Blurred Lines
by kcsecretgarden
Summary: A mysterious new ninja and her team show up in Hidden Leaf just in time for the Chunin Exams. Romance ensues. OCXKakashi, SasukeXNaruto and more. Lemon.
1. Chapter 1  A New Face

"Hey! Sakura! Wait up!" Naruto ran after his long time crush as she turned the corner – and ran smack into something incredibly solid. "Oww," complained Naruto from where he'd fallen on his butt, "What the heck?"

"Maybe you should watch where you're going, you little squirt," a deep voice said from above and the blonde boy looked up to see another blonde standing over him, this one incredibly well muscled and seemingly twice as tall, arms crossed over his obviously well-toned chest. Impudent as usual, Naruto jumped back to his feet.

"It was just as much your fault as it was mine, you jerk!"

"What an obnoxious kid," observed the other man with the blonde, this one a sharp contrast with dark hair and incredibly pale skin, still well-muscled but in a long, lean kind of way.

"Tell me about it," the blonde agreed, "What do you think we should do with him, Naoki?"

"I don't know, Daichi. Brat's probably like this to everyone."

"Maybe someone should teach him a lesson."

"Is there a problem here?" Sasuke had turned the corner and was standing with his hands on his hips, looking threatening. His Sharingan was out and his eyes were narrowed viciously.

"Well would you look at that," the blonde man, Daichi grinned, "An Uchiha."

"A what?" his partner asked.

"They used to be the most powerful clan in Hidden Leaf. How I would love to fight an Uchiha…oh, but this one's just a runt. His Sharingan's not even fully developed."

"I can still take you in a fight," Sasuke snarled.

"Oh, please don't fight!" Protested Sakura from where she stood off to the side. Everyone in the vicinity ignored her.

"Yeah, Sasuke," Naruto agreed, "Let's take these jerks!" Just as the two boys readied to charge a figure appeared between the two parties.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed, "Thank goodness you're here!" Her two teammates didn't look nearly so thrilled.

"Out of the way, Kakashi-sensei, we can take these guys!"

"I sincerely doubt that," spoke up a new voice and everyone looked skyward. There was a figure crouched in a tree but they were thrown into shadow by the angle of the sun.

"And who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded. A beautiful flutelike laugh sounded out, flowing into the ears like heavenly music and caressing the senses.

"You're a spunky little thing, aren't you?" The figure blurred down then appeared in plain sight, standing before the group. All eyes of team seven plus Kakashi's widened at the sight.

It was immediately apparent that there was a way about her, a kind of grace and ease that automatically made you warm to her presence, but at the same time those eyes were sharp enough to warn you to beware. Her body was well toned and attractively curvaceous, the short skirt and shirt that came not even down to her waist accenting it well. Strangely, her torso beneath was covered in a short sleeved tight mesh shirt and the rest of her arms and legs were wrapped completely in bandages. Her face was that of an angel, her perfect snow white features framed by cascading golden blonde waves and catlike eyes shimmering with mischief. Aside from the two sword hilts sticking over her shoulders and the pack of ninja tools secured around her hips, she looked more like a supermodel and less like a ninja.

"Now what the hell are you two jackasses doing harassing a couple of kids?" It took the four a moment to realize she was addressing the two newcomers.

"They started it," Daichi protested.

"What are you, a couple of twelve year olds? Can't you find something better to do when you're bored?"

Naoki sighed. "We can't help it, Akira. There's nothing to do in this damn village. It's all so peaceful and provincial."

"I take it you are Hidden Mist ninja?" Kakashi ventured, nodding at their headbands.

"Technically, I suppose," the girl nodded.

"What does that mean?"

"Where we come from there is no hidden village, no shinobi. So, we set out to find a village that would allow us to work for them. The Hidden Mist village kindly gave us a test and when we passed they made us Genin of their village.

Kakashi nodded. "And now you are here for the Chunin exam?" The three nodded.

"First those three sand creeps now you jerks?" Naruto said, "Screw these exams, I don't want all you people in Hidden Leaf." He crossed his arms and turned away.

"You have every right to be upset with us after the way these two numbskulls treated you," Akira smiled patiently, "How about I make it up to you somehow. Are you hungry?"

The boy immediately perked up. "Are you…going to buy me food?" The boy asked suspiciously.

"Anything you like."

Naruto let out a huge cheer. "Ichiraku ramen, here I come!" He commenced to dance around, cheering. Akira arched an eyebrow at Kakashi.

"Your student I take it?"

"Yes."

"He's certainly easy to please."

The sensei let out a long suffering sigh. "I'm fairly certain he'd defect to enemy forces for a decent bowl of ramen." The woman let out another musical laugh.

"Alright then. Why don't you and the other two come along as well, I'd like to find out more about this village anyway." She turned to her teammates. "You two, on the other hand, go back to your apartment. And stay out of trouble. Don't let him do anything dumb, Naoki." The two mock saluted her and vanished in a blur. "You'll have to forgive them," Akira apologized, "They're not normally testosterone fuelled gits, but something about this place does that to them."

"No problem," the man in the mask smiled with his eye, "We get free food out of it after all."

She grinned at him. "Oh, I like you."

The nine rookies were all gathered at the academy training grounds the next day when team Akira happened to walk by.

"Akira!" Naruto called brightly, waving a hand in the air, "Hey, Akira! Over here!" The girl looked over from deep conversation with the two other men and her expression lightened upon seeing the blonde boy.

"Well hey, Naruto," she greeted him as she approached, "What's up?"

"We're waiting for our senseis to see if we're allowed to participate in the Chunin Exams."

Her eyebrows raised. "You lot are going to take the Chunin Exams? But you're a bunch of kids."

"Hey!" Kiba protested, "We may be young but we're just as good as anyone else who's taking the exams!"

"Believe it!" Naruto added, and Akira raised her hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright, I'll take your word for it."

"Who is this girl anyway, Naruto?" Kiba demanded.

"Yeah," Shikamaru agreed, folding his hands behind his head, "She seems like a real pain in the butt."

"She's actually pretty cool," the blonde boy said, "She bought me ramen yesterday."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Then of course you think she's cool. You're almost as bad as Choji when it comes to food."

"Who are those guys over there?" Ino asked suddenly, eyes wide as she pointed at Naoki and Daichi who were hanging back a ways, "They're almost cuter than Sasuke!"

"Ha!" Sakura exclaimed, "The fact that you say that proves you don't like Sasuke nearly as much as I do!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I like him way more, billboard brow!"

"You stupid Ino-pig!" Akira glanced at Sasuke who was steadfastly ignoring the two girls, staring at the sky. _Poor kid,_ she thought. She felt a connection to the stoic boy after what she'd heard after entering the Hidden Leaf Village. Apparently his entire clan had been annihilated when he was only a little boy. Apparently he'd been forced to watch as his parents were murdered. Akira knew the feeling.

Suddenly the senseis of the three groups appeared a little ways off to the side. Asuma's eyes widened. "Damn, Kakashi. You mentioned the Mist ninja girl was good looking but you never said she looked like _that_!" Kurenai frowned slightly and Kakashi shrugged.

"I didn't feel it was necessary to elaborate."

"You've got to get some of that, man."

The white haired man frowned beneath his mask. "Asuma please. She's a child."

"Doesn't look like a child to me," the Jonin said as he looked her up and down, grinning.

"Can we please get back to why we're here?" Kurenai interrupted. The three approached the group.

Akira's Point Of View

"Great news, everyone," Asuma grinned widely, "You are now all officially enrolled in the Chunin Exams if you choose to take them." The group cheered for the most part but I carefully noted those who were much less enthusiastic rather than too nonchalant for cheering. Namely, Sakura. I carefully hid my frown. _What are these Jonin thinking? From what I've heard of these exams these little things are bound to get destroyed!_ Then I remembered the strange sense I'd gotten last night around Naruto and looked at him carefully. As immature and carefree as he seemed there was something about him, a strange power within him that I could just barely sense the edges of. There was something hidden within the boy, and it was piquing my curiosity. Then I had an idea.

"Kakashi," I turned to the man, "Would you like to have dinner with me again?"

Naruto cheered. "More free ramen!"

"Alone?" I added, and the white haired man's one visible brow raised.

"Why not?" He accepted, and we made our way downtown.

"Where would you like to eat?" I inquired politely, but Kakashi shook his head.

"No need to bother with dinner. If you have a question simply ask."

I regarded him calmly. "You're not much for wasting time, are you?"

The man shrugged. "I have a new book I'd like to get back to reading."

"I see. But please, entertain me, won't you?"

"Very well."

We decided on a small café, and dinner started off slow as we sat across from one another. In fact, it started off downright awkward. Finally after several minutes Kakashi broke the silence.

"Where is it you come from that there are no shinobi?"

"Oh," I waved a hand vaguely, "It's a long ways from here. Pretty far east of the Water Country. You wouldn't be familiar with it."

The masked man nodded and we lapsed back into silence. Then I decided it was my turn to speak up.

"That Uchiha boy, he shows serious potential."

"He does come from a great clan, after all."

"So I've heard. What exactly happened there anyway?"

Kakashi's one visible eye looked straight into mine. "Sasuke's older brother murdered the entire clan in one night, leaving only his little brother alive."

My eyes widened. "Shit," I breathed, "And I thought I had childhood traumas."

Kakashi sighed deeply. "Yeah. Now the poor kid's absolutely consumed with the idea of revenge. His one goal in life is to kill his brother." Then he blinked and shook his head, obviously having said more than he'd intended to.

"Revenge is an alluring concept."

His brow raised. "You speak as though from experience."

I shrugged. "Bad things have happened to me as well. Probably the only reason I never took that path was because the man who killed my parents is someone I can never defeat, no matter how powerful I become." Then it was my turn to be taken aback at how much I'd said. Something about that gray eye had gotten into me, seeming to lower my inhibitions, and from what I saw there he felt the same. We continued to talk then, our conversation shifting from the most mundane of things to the most personal, and before we knew it our waiter was asking us to leave since they were closing for the night.

"I'll walk you home," the white haired Jonin offered, and I nodded. "So," he began as we stepped out onto the streets, "We never got around to the subject you originally asked me to dinner for."

I laughed. "We didn't, did we. You're a distracting man, Kakashi."

"I'll take that as a compliment." I grinned up at him as a cool breeze hit me and I shivered. Immediately he divested himself of his vest and laid it around my shoulders.

"You don't have to – "

"I want to." I couldn't help the small blush that colored my cheeks at that moment and quickly changed subjects.

"You were right, originally," I said, "I do have a question."

"Ask away."

"It's about Naruto." Even out of the corner of my eye I could see the man stiffen.

"What about Naruto?"

I stopped walking, a smile spreading over my face. "So there is something."

Kakashi continued to walk and I had to quicken my pace to catch up. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"There's something inside him. I sensed it last night. Whatever it is, it's more powerful than anyone else I've felt around here with the possible exception of the Uchiha boy."

"What may or may not be inside Naruto is none of your business."

"Oh, come on. Can't you satisfy a girl's curiosity?"

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back." We had reached my apartment building and began to climb the stairs to my floor.

Kakashi looked down at me, humor in his eye. "Touché. However it is a classified village secret, and for all I know you could be a foreign spy." I stopped in front of my door and turned to him.

"What if I promise I'm not?" I smiled and he chuckled, shaking his head.

"You're quite something, aren't you Miss Ryusaki?"

"I could say the same to you, Mister Hatake." Then, to my surprise he lifted one hand to my cheek, stroking it gently with his thumb. Before I knew it I had stepped towards him and raised my head in invitation. The next moment his lips were on mine, soft and sweet, gently caressing. The second we touched my head seemed to explode, tingles shooting from my lips to my toes as I gasped in surprise. When I opened my eyes his mask was back up and that single gray eye was staring into mine, wide with the same astonishment I felt. I gulped, fighting to regain my composure.

"I have my own ways of finding out, you know," I stated.

"We'll see about that."

I couldn't help the wild grin that spread across my face. "Goodnight, Kakashi."

"Goodnight, Akira."


	2. Chapter 2  Orochimaru

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes viciously. "Sasuke will be out for some time now. Who knows, he may never wake up. In the meantime, it seems like there is convenient prey ripe for the hunt. Seems I can entertain myself for a bit." Naruto's heart began to pound with fear as he looked towards his teammates; Sakura was still slumped over on her knees, motionless with fright, and Sasuke laid completely unconscious, features twisted in pain.

"I won't let you hurt them!" The blonde boy shouted, desperately drawing out one of his few remaining kunai. He would protect Sakura with his life if he had to, there was no way he would let this disgusting creature touch her.

Orochimaru's mouth spread into a sickening smile, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. "I will enjoy shutting you up, nine-tailed brat." In a flash the man's head was shooting forward, the neck unrealistically elongated as it sped towards Sakura. Even as he cried out and leapt for her, Naruto knew he would never reach his love in time. Then, inches away from the pink haired girl the head jerked back and whipped back onto Orochimaru's shoulders, snarling. Naruto noticed a kunai knife stuck in a nearby tree that had just barely missed the man's head.

"My apologies, but I'm afraid if I just let these kids get killed Kakashi would be furious with me. Besides, I noticed you're attacking a defenseless little girl, and I can hardly condone that kind of behavior." A familiar figure dropped onto the branch next to Sakura, straightening casually with her hands on her hips. Her lustrous blonde hair was secured tightly in a ponytail and her clothes were slightly smudged with the marks of a fight. However, tied securely on her hip were both a heaven and an earth scroll. _Her team already has both scrolls?_ Naruto thought wonderingly, _how the hell did she manage that?_

"Who are you, girl?"

"Ryusaki Akira. And you are?"

"I am Orochimaru."

The girl tilted her head thoughtfully. "Nope. Doesn't ring a bell."

"It does not matter. You are going to die here, girl."

Akira grinned widely. "We'll see about that." Orochimaru extended one arm and a half dozen snakes shot from his sleeves towards the blonde, but she calmly sidestepped and sliced through them all with a single swipe of one of the two swords on her back. She returned the favor by throwing several shuriken in his direction, which he easily dodged. Then he paused, looking to forest around them.

"Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye on you girl, you might make an interesting pet. But right now it appears trouble is fast approaching. Until next time." And with that he seemed to melt into the tree and his presence vanished completely. Akira shook her head.

"Strange guy." Just then two more figures blurred onto the branch on either side of the beautiful blonde.

"Akira, what the hell are you doing, randomly taking off like that?"

She shrugged. "I sensed trouble so I decided to help these kids out."

Daichi frowned. "The whole point of this thing is to leave the others in the dust, not help them win."

"It wasn't helping them win, Daichi. If I hadn't stepped in that man would have killed them."

"That's a risk of the competition," Naoki spoke up.

"He wasn't part of the competition." All of them turned towards Sakura, surprised she'd spoken up. "He somehow stole the skin of one of the others. That man is far, far beyond us." She pushed off the ground and tried to stand, but her legs shook horribly and she nearly toppled off the branch. She would have if Akira hadn't quickly moved towards her and put an arm around to support her.

"I see," Naoki nodded, "It's your new boyfriend's team." _Boyfriend?_ Naruto thought, confused, _What's he talking about? Could it be – _He glanced at Sasuke and felt a familiar surge of jealousy rise within him.

"So what if it is?"

The dark haired man shrugged. "As long as you don't let it get in the way, I have no problem with it."

"Thanks." Akira turned back to Sakura. "Let's get you to some shelter. Daichi, grab the unconscious kid. Naoki, help the blonde kid."

Naruto shrugged him off. "I don't need any help. I'm fine." Right then his knees gave way and he fell towards the forest floor. Naoki caught him in plenty of time and they all made their way to the relative shelter of a large tree's roots that stuck out of the ground high enough to shelter a few people. Naoki and Daichi stepped off to the side and Akira sighed.

"I'm sorry," she apologized to Sakura, "My team is sulking enough as it is that we're helping you out at all. Will you be alright on your own now? I don't sense any threatening presences in the area." The pink haired girl nodded, trying to conceal the frightened look in her eyes. "Hey," Akira placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "It's going to be okay. And it's alright to be scared, I could sense the raw power in that man, that goes beyond even most of the Jonin I've come across. Listen, failing this part of the exam isn't the end of the world. Just be careful and don't push yourself."

She nodded. "Thank you. I've got it from here. It's my turn to protect them." The blonde nodded and stood to join her team. Within a second they had disappeared into the darkness. Sakura watched the space where the girl had stood. The woman, who had appeared a few weeks before the Chunin Exams began, had caused quite a stir. After all, it wasn't every day that foreign ninja entered the village, especially foreign ninja as beautiful as she. Every girl who saw her instantly wanted to be her and every man instantly wanted her. However, now that Sakura had seen this side of her the jealousy she'd harbored because of the admiring way she'd seen Sasuke looking at the woman melted into admiration. _Perhaps we could become friends,_ Sakura thought, then grimaced. _First, however, I'll have to survive this forest._


	3. Chapter 3 Gettin Scandalous

Chapter 3

Akira's Point of View

Kakashi was sitting calmly at his kitchen table when he heard the tapping at his window. Looking up from his book his one visible eye widened and he stood to open it.

"You're back awfully soon," he observed calmly as I hopped through into the room.

"Yeah," I yawned deeply, "We targeted a couple of Hidden Rain assholes and turned out they had the scroll we needed. It was double lucky."

"But still, the second round started only yesterday. That's quite impressive."

I shrugged. "Not really. I've got a strong team."

"Well," even if his mask blocked it from view I could hear the smile in Kakashi's voice, "Since you're back so soon…" He grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close, lowering that mask and leaning in. I put a finger to those full, perfectly sculpted lips.

"Hold on there, tiger. There's more." He kissed the finger over his mouth and took that hand in his, kissing my palm seductively.

"Can't it wait 'till later?"

I was sorely tempted. "No, you'll want to hear this now."

Kakashi sighed deeply. "Very well." He stepped back and raised his mask. Even though I was one of the few he showed his face to he still felt uncomfortable leaving it down for long amounts of time. "What is it?"

"Have you ever heard of a man called Orochimaru?" Kakashi froze completely.

"Why?"

I leaned forward. "So you have. Who is he?"

"Akira," he looked solemnly into my eyes, "Tell me why you are asking."

"I came across him in the forest. He was trying to kill Naruto and Sakura so I decided I'd better do something about it."

His eye widened. "You went up against Orochimaru? Are you mad?"

"Uh hello, I'm perfectly fine. Honestly, ye of little faith."

His hands went to my upper arms and gripped them tightly. "You don't understand Akira, Orochimaru is one of the legendary Sanin, if he'd wanted to he could have destroyed you. Or worse…" He trailed off, deep in thought. "Well this explains the commotion earlier and why Anko ran off into the woods. It seems the Hokage is already informed."

"Kakashi, who is this guy? I've never heard of the Sanin."

"The three Sanin were pupils of the Third Hokage when they were young."

My eyes widened. "Oh my."

"Yes. They are all incredibly powerful and hail from the Hidden Leaf Village. However, some time back Orochimaru was discovered to be kidnapping children and performing experiments on them. He called it 'research'. When he was discovered he disappeared, but has long harbored a grudge against our village."

"Which begs the question, why is he back?"

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see." Kakashi stepped closer again. "In the meantime…"

I laughed as he looped an arm around my waist and pulled me tight against him. "You just found out that a major enemy of the Leaf Village is wandering around that forest somewhere and all you can think about is this?"

"What can I say?" He lowered the mask again and my stomach flipped at the sight before me. "You're all I can ever think about."

"Kakashi – " Was all I managed to get out before his lips were on mine, warm and soft against my skin and after a moment he broke away leaving both of us breathing heavily as we stared into each other's eyes – or eye.

"I want you so badly, " He murmured and I replied by kissing him again, this time even more passionately as I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him tighter. In response his arms curled around my waist and he pulled me close against his solid yet thin frame. As our lips massaged one another's I felt his tongue run along my bottom lip, asking entrance and I opened my mouth, allowing our tongues to mingle. His felt searing hot as it explored my mouth and sent shivers of bliss down my spine which were added to as I felt his warm hands begin to unwrap my bandages, beginning at my wrists. Immediately my eyes widened and I pulled away, stumbling back with unusual clumsiness.

"No," I said shakily, and he frowned.

"Akira…" This wasn't the first time this had happened. We'd been positively infatuated with one another for a number of weeks now but every time it came to taking clothes off I backed out. Being the gentleman he was he accepted it gracefully and backed off. But this time something was different. "What is it?" I looked at my arm, trying to wrap the bandages back around though my hands trembled severely. "Hey," he said softly, gripping my hands in one of his and lifting my chin with the other. "Look at me." I did.

His mask was down around his neck. I could see his face, and he was beautiful. In fact, I'd never seen a man more beautiful than he. Immediately, as I did every time I saw it, I wanted to touch that face, to caress it, to kiss it, but I held myself back. I couldn't let things get too far, I couldn't let him find out how hideous I was, not when he was so perfect.

"Here," he said tenderly, and suddenly scooped me up in his arms, carrying me like a baby. He carried me through a doorway and into his bedroom where he set me gently on the bed before closing the curtains and flicking off the lights. It was now pitch dark. "Better?" He whispered, kneeling down with his legs straddling me and cupping my face in his hands.

"Much," I whispered back, and he took over my lips in a sweet, gentle kiss, our lips melding together and moving in perfect sync, electricity seeming to crackle through them as the kiss deepened. Slowly, his hands made their way back to my bandages and I finally allowed him to remove them all. Goosebumps followed his touch as he ran his fingers over my bare arms and made their way to the hemline of the shirt. His fingertips burned as they slid over my stomach, bringing the shirt with them, and in a moment I was left only with my bra. He then moved his lips to gently kiss down my jawline and neck, over my collarbone and down my stomach to the top of my skirt where he lingered, kissing along its edge. My body arched up of its own accord as his hands crept up behind my back and undid the fastening of my bra. I gasped as those warm hands ran over my bare chest and then his fingers began to play with one taut nipple as his mouth began to lavish the other. I continued to gasp and moan as he licked, nibbled and twisted gently, nearly overwhelmed already. The man sure as hell knew what he was doing.

After a few moments he turned his attention southward and carefully pulled off the bandages on my legs, followed by my skirt and underwear in one shot. His mouth returned to me, those skillful lips and tongue playing with mine as his hand slid downwards until those long fingers found my sweet spot and I gasped into his mouth. I could feel the smile curve his lips as he began to rub gently and I couldn't help but writhe in pleasure. Suddenly he pulled his fingers away and tapped and I let out a pleasured "Oh!" He slid his finger down and entered me slowly, moving in and out a few times before adding another finger.

"Mmm, Kakashi," I moaned, and he kissed his way back down to my nipple. He continued to alternate rubbing and fingering as he did wondrous, magical things with his mouth and after a couple minutes I was nearly purring in ecstasy. He kissed his way back up to my earlobe where he nibbled gently before whispering,

"I want to make you scream my name."

I grinned widely. "Then fuck me now," I said roughly, hands going to his belt. He immediately stripped his shirt off as I took care of his pants and boxers and I shuddered as I felt his warm body come close to me again.

"You're freezing," he murmured and in response I simply kissed him hard and dug my nails into his back, pulling him closer. He let out a gasp and obediently lowered himself so I could feel his hardness hovering just outside of me. Then he thrust in and I let out an involuntary scream of both pleasure and surprise. Holy shit, he was enormous!

"Did I hurt you?" He asked worriedly and I gulped, barely able to think up coherent words.

"No…fantastic…more…" He pulled out and thrust in again, slowly and I pressed my hips into his, savoring the sensation of his burning warmth filling me completely. He set a slow, steady pace and I loved every moment of it. After all his teasing I could feel myself coming quickly to a climax and dug my nails into him again, something he seemed to enjoy. "Faster," I urged, and he quickened the pace, now releasing pleasured moans of his own and I stretched my arms over my head as the pleasure increased unbelievably.

"Akira," he panted, "So tight…"

He was consistently hitting that spot dead on and the world began to get dizzy, pure instinct and pleasure taking over me as I neared the edge then suddenly a rush of absolute ecstasy washed over me, driving all thoughts away and as I screamed. Immediately he let out his own yell and I felt him cum deep within me. Both of us continued to ride through several aftershocks until we finally collapsed next to one another on the bed.

Kakashi laid an arm over me and pulled me close as we recovered, panting. "That was incredible," he murmured.

"Mmm," was my only sleepy reply as I snuggled closer to him, reveling in his warmth. I was already mostly asleep as he pulled the blanket up over us and the dark, warm world cradled us, together.


	4. Chapter 4 Round Three Preliminaries

Chapter 4: Round Three Preliminaries

"Well! Look who made it through the forest whole and alive!"

Team seven turned to see the gorgeous blonde woman approaching them with a wide grin on her face. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly before he recovered his stoic expression.

"Akira, right?" He asked casually, and Sakura felt a pang of jealousy deep in her gut.

"Correct. And you're the Uchiha boy, right? What was it again? Sasuke?"

"Yeah. Do you want something?"

"Ah, Sasuke," Sakura interrupted, though secretly pleased that he was treating her with the same impatience as he did everyone, "Akira is the one who saved Naruto and me from that man in the forest. Without her we'd probably be dead." Sasuke simply grunted.

Akira arched an eyebrow. "I think I liked him better unconscious." Before Sasuke could retort Kakashi suddenly appeared behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You'd be surprised how many people would agree with you, Miss Ryusaki." He looked down at the Uchiha boy. "Sasuke, we need to talk." Akira gave him a curious look but he simply held up one hand in a peace sign. "Later." And with that the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What's that all about?" Naruto demanded crossly and Sakura looked away, biting her lip with worry. _Well she certainly knows something,_ Akira thought suspiciously, _Could it have something to do with what she tried to raise her hand and say earlier when Sasuke stopped her?_ Her train of thought was interrupted when she sensed a somewhat familiar presence and her head snapped toward the Jonin representatives of each village present. The paper white, dark haired Sound ninja seemed to notice her looking for he met her eyes and delivered her a chilling smile. Where had she seen him before?

As this was happening Naruto had stopped fretting over Kakashi's special attention to Sasuke and was staring hard at Akira. _Wow,_ he thought, _She's really pretty. Even prettier than Sakura. I wonder if she'd ever go on a date with me or if she's actually dating Sasuke…_ He was about to ask when the giant screen came to life, names flickering across before it landed on the first pairing: Akado Yoroi vs. Uchiha Sasuke. Excited mutterings swept through the room as the battle area was cleared besides the two.

Akira's point of view

I leaned against the railing on my elbows, watching with vague interest as the match progressed. The Uchiha boy certainly had skill, and given time and training could become incredible. However, there seemed to be something hindering him, something that occasionally made him wince in pain. It wasn't until he was in the air underneath his opponent that my sharp eyes caught the strange markings spreading across his neck and my eyes widened. _What the hell is that?_ The next moment the match was over and Sasuke was immediately taken away by my lover. _Intriguing. I'll have to find out more about that. _Unfortunately I was left with no more time to dwell on it for the screen sparked back to life and the next pairing was announced: Abukara Riku vs. Fukayama Daichi. I straightened. _Well this should be interesting._ Abukara Riku was a low profile shinobi of the Hidden Mist Village. He was one of the few we'd met during our brief stop at the village and the chemistry between he and Daichi had been instant hate. However, the two's styles were perhaps the least compatible of all. If Daichi were any less powerful than I knew he was, things would have gotten dicey, but as things were this would be a match quickly ended. Chances were Daichi wouldn't even have to pull out any ninjutsu.

"Woo!" I cheered, "Let's go Fukayama!" My blonde friend and teammate rolled his eyes at me but I could see the slight smile that touched his face.

"Begin!" The proctor commanded, and almost immediately Daichi raised his hand.

"I give up," he said calmly, and my jaw dropped. _Say what?_

The proctor blinked. "Uh…are you certain?"

The blonde nodded. "I have no interest in fighting this guy. These exams are beginning to bore me." I smacked my forehead with one hand. The idiot. He turned to walk away but his would be opponent had different ideas.

"Don't think you're getting out of it that easily, Fukayama. Defend yourself!" He rushed my friend, weapons drawn. The next second the Hidden Mist shinobi was flat on the ground, unconscious. Daichi looked down on him disdainfully.

"You lose," he stated, then turned to the proctor. "Alright, now take me out of these exams." The proctor gave him a startled look but nodded.

"Very well. Abukara Riku and Fukayama Daichi are disqualified. Next match." I turned to Daichi as he approached me.

"What the hell was that all about?"

The man shrugged. "Like I said, I'm bored of this. Now that we're through the team stuff I figure I'll leave you and Naoki to it."

"You've got to be kidding me. Daichi – "

He cut me off, shaking his head. "You know I don't like displaying my abilities to strangers, it puts me at risk of being at a disadvantage in later fights. And look how many enemy ninja are watching, then if I made it to the final round there would be even more. I don't want people having that kind of info on me."

I sighed. "Fine." A few matches later it was Naoki's turn and he was paired up against a Hidden Mist ninja of the same team. Immediately after the fight began wisps of fog began to appear throughout the arena and I heard the sound of a snicker behind me.

"Your man's done for. Out of all the shinobi of the Mist, Tomomi has only ever been second to Zabuza when it comes to this technique. He's the next silent assassin." Turning, I recognized the speaker as Otani Yuuma, another on the same team as Naoki's and Daichi's opponents. True to the obnoxious ninja's words, the entire battle area was packed with fog within seconds; no one could see a thing from above, so certainly Naoki was absolutely visionless.

"Impressive," I admitted, "Though it's a real shame Naoki's his match."

Yuuma narrowed his eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"Because my man down there doesn't need his eyes to see." The next second a loud crash was heard and almost immediately the mist began to dissipate. I smiled at the scene below, Naoki casually waving away the fog before his face as his opponent lay twenty feet away on the ground, curled around himself and moaning in pain.

Yuuma was spluttering in disbelief. "But – but that's impossible! How could he possibly – ?"

I snorted. "As if I'd tell a waste of existence like you." Naoki was incredibly apt in earth style Ninjutsu and possessed the unique capability of being able to feel vibrations through the ground and translate them into what they belonged to. Essentially he could at any moment gain a map of the terrain around him as well as everything touching the ground from the greatest tree to the tiniest worm if he concentrated hard enough.

"Nice job," I congratulated my teammate as some Sand ninja fought a little girl with a bunch of scrolls. "You shut up Otani Yuuma real good."

Naoki's lip curled. "Well at least that fight resulted in something valuable instead of just wasting my time." I laughed at that and we resumed watching the incredibly short match. I was just noticing that Kakashi had returned to the stadium when one of my teammates nudged me.

"Akira, look." I glanced up at the screen.

"Ryusaki Akira vs. Otani Yuuma. Looks like we all got paired up against that team of Mist ninja." I casually leapt over the railing to the floor, approaching the proctor who sighed.

"Don't tell me you'll be resigning as well?" He inquired, his tone bored.

I snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

He nodded as my opponent approached. "Very well. Begin."

Sakura gripped the railing in anticipation. Every eye in the place was glued to the pair on the battle area, wondering just what was going to happen. Certainly her team had finished first in the second round of the exam, but everyone had just seen how powerful her teammates were so perhaps it was them that had gotten the team this far. After all, she didn't look like much of a threat, and the way she stood was so laid back, so casual.

"Otani Yuuma," she heard Might Guy say behind her, "I've heard that name before."

Sakura turned towards him curiously. "What have you heard, Guy-sensei?" Those around them including Naruto, Kiba, Lee, Choji and Ino listened intently. Even the Sand ninja standing nearby listened in.

"Apparently he is some kind of protégé in the Village hidden in the Mist. He uses jutsu that no other at his age should be able to and has speed that could only be paralleled by an Uchiha. If she doesn't take him seriously, she will lose."

Sakura turned back to the match, gritting her teeth. _Come on, Akira. Don't lose this._

Otani Yuuma crouched into a ready position, drawing several senbon and holding them between his fingers. Akira remained strangely motionless.

"Come on, girl," he taunted, "Draw your weapon."

"Against you? I needn't bother."

Her opponent sneered, launching the needlelike weapons at her. Calmly, she leapt high into the air, dodging them all, and he set off at a sprint, running in a blurring circle around the spot where she had to land. Several people gasped in astonishment. He was moving at an incredible speed! Akira landed in a crouch and senbon began shooting at her from every direction as the man began moving faster and faster. Her speed and grace were incredible as she dodged every shot, then suddenly, more quickly than anyone could follow, she lashed out with a kick. Next thing the audience knew Otani Yuuma had been slammed against the far wall of the arena and fell to the ground, completely knocked out. Shocked silence filled the air as everyone stared at the impossible girl.

"There's no way someone could move that fast!" Kiba exclaimed.

"I didn't even see her move," the blonde Sand ninja marveled.

The proctor raised his arm. "This match goes to Ryusaki Akira." The girl yawned hugely before grinning at the man and turning to calmly walk back up to the observation deck.

"That was incredible!" Naruto exclaimed as she walked towards them, "How on earth did you do that?"

She shrugged. "It's not as though his pattern of movement was hard to figure out. I just interrupted it at the right moment."

"Choji look!" Ino exclaimed suddenly, "Shikamaru is up! GO SHIKAMARU!" Akira winced, putting a hand to her ear.

"Honestly, you people are so loud." Her attention wandered over to the three Sand ninja. "Interesting," she murmured, moving towards them.

"Hello, there," Akira greeted the three, stepping up behind them. The two besides the redhead turned at the sound of her voice, the one with the purple markings on his face eyeing her up and down.

"Well hello," he grinned appreciatively, "Why you're much prettier up close."

"Oh, shut up, Kankuro," the blonde with the giant fan rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the female ninja of the Mist. "What do you want?"

Akira shrugged. "I simply wanted to congratulate you. My fight was right after yours so I didn't get the opportunity to tell you how impressed I was. You've got a nice little toy there." She nodded at the enormous fan.

"Toy?" Temari prickled, "This toy could take your head off, you little bitch. And it just might if you don't watch what you say."

"Temari." The three turned their attention to the redhead. "We have no conflict with her."

She nodded tersely. "Yes, Gaara."

"Gaara," Akira repeated, "So that's your name. I've been wondering."

"We have no conflict with you now. We will, however, if you do not leave us alone. Bother me again and I will kill you myself." Within an instant, Akira had him by the cloth around his neck, pulling him close. She opened her mouth to scold him but paused. Both of their eyes widened upon seeing each other's faces. Akira released the boy and he stepped back.

"Well," the gorgeous blonde girl grinned, "You're certainly cuter from the front." The slightest pink tinged the ginger's cheeks as he looked back at her silently. "Right then," she winked, "I'll be seeing you." And with that she returned to stand with her two teammates leaving all three Sand ninja staring after her.

Akira's POV

It was well dark by the time the preliminaries ended and Kakashi was visiting Sasuke in the hospital so I decided to take a stroll on my own. I didn't get far before glimpsing a figure above, outlined against the moon as they stood on the roof of the tall building. Curiously, I climbed up and approached them, recognizing the hair when I got close enough.

"Well hello there," I greeted them jovially, moving closer.

Gaara turned to face me, a mildly annoyed expression on his face. He looked exhausted. "What are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "I got curious when I saw someone up here."

"Curiosity can be a dangerous thing."

"So I've been told. I find it worth the risk."

The boy turned his attention back to contemplating the moon. "I could kill you right here, you know. No one would ever know who was responsible, even if you screamed."

"If you wanted to kill me you'd have tried by now." He looked back at me, surprise clear on his features and I laughed. "Weren't expecting that, now were you?"

Those dark circled eyes narrowed. "Are you…laughing at me?"

"Of course," I lowered myself to the rooftop, taking a seat, "If you don't find something to laugh at in people the world's a dreadfully boring place."

He was staring at me as if expecting to find the answers to life etched into my skin. After a moment he spoke. "No one…has ever laughed at me before."

I looked up at him, surprised. "Really? Even though you're a ginger?"

He blinked. "A what?"

"Where I come from people get made fun of for having red hair all the time. Personally I find gingers like you quite attractive, but you know how it is. People are dumb."

"People are too afraid to make fun of me." Gaara stated bluntly, surprising me.

"Afraid?" I frowned, "Why would they be afraid?" Could it have something to do with the fact that I had earlier sensed something inside him similar to what was within Naruto?

The boy looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists. "I'm a monster."

"How do you figure that?"

He shook his head. "I just am."

"Well," I said, standing and brushing off my skirt, "Everyone has a monster in them, to a certain extent. It's what you do with it that counts." His eyes widened as he stared at me and I gave him a little wave. "Well, I'd better get going. Have a good night, Gaara." With one last smile I jumped off the roof and made my way to Kakashi's. When I arrived the place was dark so I let myself in, figuring he wasn't home yet, but then I heard soft sounds coming from his room. When I looked in I found him sprawled out over his bed, dead asleep. I laughed softly at the sight and went to shift him so he was under the covers. As I stood I felt something warm hook around my wrist and before I knew it I had been pulled right down next to him.

"You little faker," I accused, and he pulled me closer, snuggling his head beneath my chin. I inhaled deeply, savoring his naturally spicy and heavenly scent as I cuddled against him, quickly growing toasty warm beneath the covers.


	5. Chapter 5 The Dreamstone

Chapter 5

Akira's Point Of View

One month. One month to train, to work, to become the best we could possibly be. One month to become of such a level that there was no way we could be defeated, that we would impress our leaders to the point of their wanting to promote us in the ranks of the shinobi. One month and all the pressure of our future lives weighing down on us.

I yawned deeply, blissfully stretching as I blinked sleep from my eyes and sighed contentedly, running my fingers through the soft grass beneath me. My body was warmed by the rays of the sun and I looked up into the sky, watching the clouds roll by. Then a shadow was cast over me and I frowned.

"You're blocking my sun," I stated, but got no response. Sitting up, I turned to see who had approached me. I smiled. "Ah. Hello, Gaara."

"Only two weeks left and you're not even training."

I shrugged. "I decided it was a lovely day for a nap and took a few hours off."

"You've decided that every day so far," he said, then suddenly frowned, blushing ever so slightly.

"Gaara, have you been watching me here for the past two weeks?" He looked very uncomfortable and nervous so I took pity on the boy, ignoring it and changing subjects. "You look exhausted again. Do you sleep at all?"

"I try not to."

That caught me off guard. "Oh. Bad dreams?"

"You could say that." I regarded him carefully, feeling a wrench of pity for the boy. Whatever it was inside him, whatever he and Naruto shared, it wasn't good for him. As stoic as he pretended to be I could see suffering in those eyes, long suffering accumulated over an entire life. I felt a wrench of pity for the boy. He was so young to have eyes so old.

"Here," I said, putting my hands to my neck and slipping off the chain I wore there. I held it out to him, a small, spherical bright green stone hanging from one end.

Gaara blinked at it. "What – what is that?"

"It's called a Dreamstone," I explained, "My mother gave it to me. If you wear it around your neck it's supposed to suck in bad dreams, prevent them from ruling your sleep. After my father died I used to get horrible nightmares all the time until she gave it to me. The first night I slept with it around my neck was the first night I'd slept peacefully in ages."

"And you're…giving it to me?"

"Uh huh."

He simply stared at the stone. "Why?"

"You obviously need it way more than I do. Go on, take it. I won't accept no as an answer." Slowly he reached out a hand and took the chain, carefully putting it around his neck. "It has to touch your skin to work," I said, standing. "Here." To his obvious surprise I took his hand and curled it around the stone. His eyes widened as I knew the stone grew warm in his hand for a brief moment. "Now look at it." He opened his fingers and displayed the stone which had turned from my forest green to a brilliant turquoise, the exact same color as his eyes.

"It…changed colors."

"Yep," I said brightly, "It's all synced to you now. Wear it so it's touching your skin when you sleep and your nightmares should be taken care of."

The redhead stared at the stone in silence. Then, "What happened to your father?"

I blinked, surprised at the question. "That's kind of a personal thing to ask."

Gaara turned away, almost seeming embarrassed. "Never mind." He began to walk off back towards where he'd come.

"He killed himself." The boy stopped walking. "He and my mother got in a big fight one night. He hit her across the face and I ran for him, trying to make him stop. He went berserk and pulled out a knife, slashing me across the stomach. I still have the scar. As my mom desperately tried to stop the bleeding he just kept on yelling, screaming at us. Then he finally pointed a finger at me and yelled, 'This is your fault. It's all your fault you filthy demon, remember that!' And then he took that same knife and stabbed himself through the heart. He was dead within seconds." Silence. Gaara didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry." The words sounded strange, almost unnatural coming from him.

"What happened to your father?"

He turned, eyeing me closely. "Nothing. He's still alive. He's on his way here."

"Let me rephrase. What happened between you and your father?"

"What makes you think anything happened?"

"Your eagerness to know what happened to my father."

"I see. He tried to kill me. Many, many times."

"Is that why you think you're a monster?"

Gaara looked steadily into my eyes. "I do not think. I know."

"You – "

"Gaara!" The two turned to see the Sand ninja's other two teammates running towards them.

"What is it?" The ginger demanded.

"We've been looking for you everywhere," Temari panted, "Where have you been?"

"Here. With Akira."

I gave her a wave. "Hello." She glared at me.

"You know you're not supposed to go out on your own," Kankuro scolded, "And besides, our father is arriving today. He expects you to be there to greet him." _The sick bastard,_ I thought, looking towards Gaara. However, the boy had regained his neutral front and nodded.

"Goodbye Akira," was all he said and casually walked away, followed closely by his two siblings. I looked after him with a heavy heart, hoping the necklace would at least do a little to ease his pain.

"Goodbye, Gaara."


	6. Chapter 6 The Attack On Leaf

Chapter 6

As the third and final round continued on an increasingly ominous feeling continued to gnaw at the pit of Akira's stomach. Something was wrong, she could sense it. However, she was soon distracted when her matched arrived and excitedly dropped onto the field, facing her opponent.

"I can't believe it," Sakura said, staring at the pair in the center of the arena, "Two teammates fighting each other? Poor Akira and Naoki. They must be torn."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ino spoke up next to her, "Look at the blonde girl. She looks as carefree as ever." Her rival sounded almost annoyed by that, which Sakura could understand. The fact that no one had seen Akira upset or angry or in the least bit irrational was a bit grating. No one could be that perfect and together, it just wasn't possible…or was it? As the two girls watched in anticipation the boy of the pair raised his hand.

"I abstain." The short sentence carried even to where they were sitting and the crowd burst out in angry murmurings. First the Uchiha boy was late now a second participant was abstaining from battle? What fun was this?

"Naoki!" Akira exclaimed, catching up with him as he rejoined the other fighters, "What the hell was that all about?" The other participants tried to look as though they were not listening, but even Gaara's ears were perked up.

"You should know I'm not going to fight you, Akira," he replied calmly, "Not in a real fight."

She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "What, afraid of getting beat by a girl?"

"Not afraid, per say. I just know how the match would end, so I decided to save myself the humiliation of fighting a pointless battle."

"You can't be certain you wouldn't win."

"Akira." He looked her straight in the eyes and lowered his voice. "You're a Ryusaki. I'm a Baisotei. One does not equal the other."

The beautiful blonde gritted her teath. "Naoki, our bloodlines have nothing to do with this, you – "

"Just leave it, okay?" His tone of voice cut her off immediately and she frowned, heading to the railing to watch the next fight.

Akira's Point Of View

I watched in fascination as the Uchiha boy tore down the wall, lightning crackling in his hand, headed straight for that great orb of sand in the center of the arena. I'd thought the red haired boy's control of the sand was incredible, but whatever was happening in Sasuke's hand right now was simply jaw dropping, I could taste the raw electricity in the air and it sent shivers up my spine. _So this is what Kakashi was so busy teaching him for the last month. I'm impressed._ The scream that sounded the moment Sasuke struck was curdling, almost inhuman and I was tempted to cover my ears and hunch into a ball just to get away from it. That_ was Gaara?_ I thought wonderingly. _But how? There's no way a sound like that came from human vocal chords…_

Suddenly a strange sensation came over me, my eyes growing heavy and my body tempting to fall asleep. That instantly alerted me to the Genjutsu; after as much sleep as I'd been getting due to Kakashi's absence I knew this wasn't just me getting sleepy. I formed the proper hand sign, gathering chakra. "Release," I murmured, and the feeling disappeared as quickly as it had come on. That was when I saw it: a cloud of smoke enveloped the Hokage's box and I swore. So _that _was the plan! I immediately jumped down and ran for it, taking the short route but several ninja I recognized as being from Hidden Sand cut me off. I came to a halt, straightening.

"I see, so you lot are behind this."

One sneered. "You spotted that Genjutsu pretty fast, girl. Too bad for you."

"Oh, no," I grinned, reaching over my shoulders to draw both swords, "We'll see who's drawn the short stick here." Two of them leapt at me and I easily slashed them both to the side, spinning, then swept my leg along the ground to sweep the feet out from under a third. Another came at me with a swing of his sword which I easily parried before twisting to block several kunai with my other one, knocking a couple back towards their owner where they hit home before I turned back to the swordsman. Sneering, he came at me again and with a sigh I twisted the sword from his grip and knocked my hilt against his temple, leaving him out cold. "Well that takes care of you lot," I muttered, but didn't sheath my swords. If this was a full on attack on the Leaf by Hidden Sand there would be plenty more where that came from.

As I watched, two figures leapt out from the smoke onto a nearby rooftop, one I could identify as the Hokage by his robes, but the other…was it the Kazekage? It would make sense, but no…The Sand leader's ceremonial garb was ripped off and I gasped as my better than average eyes recognized the face: Orochimaru. A chill instantly went through me as all that I'd learned of him over the past month since we'd met came to the surface. For some reason I couldn't explain I felt a sudden urge to save the Hokage, to help this city I'd come to be quite comfortable living in. I ran for the rooftop but within seconds four more figures appeared and an enormous purple barrier was erected. Even from where I was standing I could sense its looming presence, the pure energy and evil that it incorporated.

"Damnit," I hissed, then noticed Gaara taking off, his two comrades supporting him. _Now what's going on there?_ I made to follow but a man stepped in my way. Just by looking at the Jounin I could tell he would be one hell of a hurdle, one I might even have to pull out some of my Ninjutsu for.

"You're going to be a challenge, aren't you?" I grinned. "What's your name?"

"I am Baki. I'm afraid I can't let you follow those kids."

"That's a real shame. I'm awfully curious." The man drew his sword and it was immediately apparent he was much more skilled with it than any of the previous men I'd faced. I crouched, holding my own swords at the ready and his lip curled in a sneer.

"Don't bother. This is a wind sword of the Sand Village, there's no other sword that can withstand it. You die here." And so he charged at me, swinging as though he fully expected the sword to slice right through mine and kill me right then and there. However, my swords held. His eyes widened in shock and I grinned.

"You've obviously never experienced an authentic Baisotei family masterpiece." Our weapons slid apart and both of us leapt back several feet. "My friend Naoki made these for me for my sixteenth birthday, forged them using the secret jutsu passed on through generations of his family. These babies have served me faithfully for four years, there's no way that thing," I jerked my chin at his sword, "Is going to so much as dent them."

His one visible eye narrowed. "We'll see about that." We continued to go at each other for several minutes, swords and kunai clashing, blows being given and dodged, until finally we broke apart, both of us breathing heavily. Then I sensed him gathering up his chakra and he slashed his sword through the air shouting, "Blade of wind!" I swore, realizing in an instant that there was no way I could block or dodge. I would simply have to pull out my Ninjutsu. Within a second I had gathered my own chakra.

"Wind tunnel," I said, and a torrential spinning gust sped towards Baki, passing right around his attack and pulling it apart. Shocked, my opponent desperately thrust his sword out into the center of my attack and it split around him, whirling into nothing without causing any harm. I wasn't bothered by this; it had only been intended for defense purposes anyway. The sand Jounin was staring at me in shock.

"But how is that possible? Wind jutsu is a skill passed down through the Sand Village, you can't possibly have learned it…especially one I have never seen before!"

"What can I say?" I shrugged, "The world's a bigger place than you know."

"It's a shame you won't be in it much longer."

"Again with the threats. Honestly, I was just trying to have a friendly conversation." Baki sneered and raised his sword again, gathering his chakra even more than before. I readied myself for his next attack as his weapon slashed through the air.

"Blade of wind hurricane!"

The wind picked up immediately and right before my eyes a spinning vortex began to form, its force already attempting to draw me in. I attempted to back away, but the suction was already too strong and I began to slide towards it. As the edges of the hurricane hit me I felt several gashes open over my body and immediately realized I couldn't afford to be sucked in completely…but this jutsu was more powerful than any wind jutsu I'd come across, perhaps any that I was capable of. I gritted my teeth. Could it be that it was already time for my secret to be unveiled? As another gust of wind sliced open my leg I gritted my teeth and gathered my chakra. Then, suddenly, an enormous pillar of rock jutted up from the ground into the middle of the vortex, completely dispelling it.

"Come on, Ryusaki," I heard a familiar voice tease, "If that's all you got maybe I shouldn't have withdrawn after all."

I couldn't help but grin. "Oh, bite me, Naoki."

"Oi! You two!" The voice came from the opposite side of the giant outcropping of earth and Naoki and I leapt to the top to see. Daichi was standing on the ground over the crumpled form of my opponent. "Don't worry about me, or anything, just carry on messing around while I do all the heavy lifting."

I laughed, dropping down next to him. "Good work, Daichi. This guy was strong."

"So I saw. You haven't had to work that hard against anyone since…well, you know."

I winced slightly as I remembered. "Yeah. I know."

"Akira, you're hurt," Naoki cut in, "Come on, let's get out of here. I have a feeling this village isn't going to be standing for long."

I frowned. "What do you mean, let's get out of here? They need our help." The two men stared at me.

"Akira," Daichi said slowly, "It's not our village. It's not our business."

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you haven't become fond of this place. It's like one big family of shinobi, and even the normal citizens here are kind and welcoming. They lay so much importance on maintaining peace, of helping one another, and the Hokage is more like that than anyone. I respect that and feel compelled to help protect it."

Daichi sighed deeply. "Here she goes, getting all sentimental."

"And giving us one of her inspirational talks," Naoki added, "Probably like she expects it to change our minds."

"It's really unfortunate we got stuck with someone like that on our team."

"It's even more unfortunate that she's so damn good at what she does."

I fluttered my eyes innocently at the two. "Why boys, does that mean you're agreeing to fight with me?"

"Do we have a choice?"

I grinned hugely. "Let's do this!"


	7. Chapter 7 Aftermath

Chapter 7

Akira's Point Of View

The village was in ruins. Stores, houses, restaurants, buildings everywhere laid crumbling having been subjected from everything from paper bomb explosions to a giant snake attack. The streets were filled with the moans of the injured and the blood of the dead. No one knew who was alive, who was dead, and the village was still with the aftershock of the disaster. Those of us who were left focused on helping the injured, and at the moment it didn't matter whether they were friend or foe; we were all shinobi who had just battled our best. I was just coming out of the hospital when my worst fear was proven unfounded.

"Kakashi!" I cried, recognizing that distinctive head of hair, and he turned as I ran to him.

"Akira," he breathed, relief evident in his voice, and he drew me into a choking embrace, which I returned with just as much force. Neither of us needed to say anything; we knew exactly what the other was thinking for they were the exact same thoughts that had been going through our heads as we looked at each new dead body, that half second of wondering whether the motionless face would be the face of the person we'd come to care most for over the last couple months. After a few much needed moments we turned to Kakashi's companions. Might Guy was staring at us.

"You two are – ?"

"Like I said, Guy," Kakashi replied, one arm still tight around me, "Feel free to win your little competition. I've got everything I need."

Guy clenched his fist. "Curse you, Kakashi, it's your nonchalance that gets you such beautiful women!"

"Does he always talk to himself like that?" I murmured to my lover and he nodded tiredly.

"I'm afraid so. Makes things terribly awkward for the rest of us."

"Ryusaki Akira, right?" Kurenai approached us.

"Yes. Yuhi Kurenai, correct?"

She nodded. "I fought near you several times today. You are quite impressive. Though I can't help but wonder, why fight for us? This isn't even your village."

"I've been to many places in this world, many countries, many villages. I see things here that I haven't seen anywhere else, special, wonderful things. Although I've only been here a short time it seems I've come to love this village, for when it came down to it, running away and leaving you lot here wasn't even an option." Kakashi's arm tightened around me and Kurenai's eyes widened in surprise. The others nodded approvingly.

"I see. Well thank you for your help."

"Of course."

Suddenly an ANBU member appeared before us. "The barrier is down," he informed us, "The third Hokage is dead."

Stunned silence.

The funeral was beautiful. As a nonmember of the Hidden Leaf Village all I could do was to watch from the mountaintop as the mournful procession deposited their flowers. Kakashi was positively listless the moment he entered the apartment, dropping his stoic façade and falling into his bed still wearing his rain soaked clothes. I knelt next to him and began to strip off the dripping wet clothing, leaving him in only his underwear. Next I slipped off the mask and the headband, placing them carefully on the nightstand. I laid down next to him and put an arm around him, pulling him close. He laid his head on my chest and I gently ran my fingers through his hair and after a few minutes began to hum the ancient lullaby that my mother had learned from all the Ryusaki women before her. Within minutes Kakashi was fast asleep.

"You're being sent as a diplomat to the Sand Village?" I repeated in disbelief.

"Yes. They've made overtures of peace and I'm the only Jounin in the village right now." A couple weeks had passed since the disastrous destruction of the Leaf Village and the place was swamped with rebuilding, debt, and perhaps even more missions coming in than before.

"Kakashi," I said, "Do you realize how dangerous that could be?"

He gently kissed my forehead. "Dangerous is part of the job, love."

"But seriously…you? A diplomat? What are they thinking?"

"I can be perfectly diplomatic," Kakashi protested, affronted.

I snorted. "Right. Well one thing's for certain, I'm coming with you."

"Akira, don't be ridiculous."

"Who's being ridiculous?" I looked him straight in the eye. "Kakashi, this is a time where people of this village are turning to their own for comfort. Outsiders are extremely unwelcome. There's no place for me here right now, but there is with you."

"The elders would never allow it."

"Who says they have to allow anything?" I grinned. "I'll leave today and perhaps it will just so happen that we run into each other on the road towards the Sand village."

"You're a frighteningly devious girl sometimes, you know that?"

I winked. "Of course. In fact, I quite pride myself on it."

True to our plan Kakashi and I left on separate days, meeting up some distance outside of the city. We reached the Sand Village in the expected three days and were led through its impressive walls to the Kazekage's building where its council met. We were greeted by none other than Baki, whose eye widened upon seeing me with Kakashi.

"Well this is awkward," I said, rubbing my neck.

"You were sent here for peace negotiations?" The man asked, dumbfounded.

"No, that's me," Kakashi raised a hand.

"I'm just along for the ride," I smiled.

The Sand Jounin cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Then perhaps we should start over."

"That sounds like a lovely idea." I held out my hand. "Ryusaki Akira."

"Baki."

"Hatake Kakashi, if anyone cares." I stifled a laugh and Baki turned towards him, brow raised.

"Hatake Kakashi. The copy ninja. It is an honor."

I blinked. "You're famous?" Kakashi winked.

"Well," Baki clapped his hands together, "You've had a long journey, you must rest. Negotiations will begin tomorrow, but for now I'll show you to your rooms."

"Room," I corrected. "We'll only be needing one."

"Oh. I – I see." It took all of my self control not to laugh at both him and Kakashi's well hidden but still deep blush as we were shown to a large, well furnished room.

"You had to do that?" Kakashi sighed as I closed the door behind us.

"What can I say," I grinned, "I like to make you blush." My lover shook his head, stripping his clothes off and heading for the bed. The sky was well dark by now and so long spent traveling was catching up to us. It was warm enough that we needed only a light sheet and as we snuggled up comfortably next to one another it took us only moments to fall asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Kakashi's Point Of View

I awoke to find my arms empty and sunlight streaming through the window and I opened my eye slowly, stretching blissfully. What I saw when I looked next to me nearly stopped my heart completely. She was stretched out with one arm straight over her head, the other curled next to her with fingertips just brushing her cheek. Her features were perfectly still and she looked like a marble statue, every curve shining in the sunlight, those pink lips slightly curled up at the ends. It was the most peaceful I'd ever seen her and my heard skipped a beat as I realized: she was mine. It was all I could do to resist reaching out and touching her; I didn't want my battle calloused hands marring that flawless beauty. Just then those lids fluttered open and I felt a shiver go through me as her brilliant green eyes met mine. Almost immediately she burst out giggling.

"What?" I demanded.

"You slept in your mask and your headband," she grinned.

"So?"

"So, it's just so…you." She wound her arms around my waist and pulled herself closer, pulling the mask away and brushing my lips with hers. Immediately I wanted more and caught the back of her neck as she began to pull away, bringing her back in for a much more passionate kiss.

"Mmm," she smiled, rolling on top of me and straddling my hips as our kisses deepened. My hands craving flesh I slowly slid them beneath her shirt and up over her bra, massaging lightly. In appreciation her hips began to grind gently and I had to stifle a pleasured gasp. She noticed and began to grind harder, obviously enjoying herself as I moaned at the blissful sensation. Then I felt her warm fingers gently pushing at my headband and I somewhat snapped out of it.

"What are you doing?"

"I'd like to look into both of your eyes for once." I shook my head and she frowned. "Why?"

"Because…" I trailed off as she looked closely at me. I sighed. "Because it's hideous. And you're so perfect." Her eyes widened and she stared at me for several moments.

"Kakashi, I'm not…"

"Don't." I kissed her gently, "You're absolutely gorgeous."

"You say that because you haven't seen…" She bit her lip, glancing away. Then her hand went to the bandages of one arm and began to unwrap. I struggled not to show my shock; every moment we'd been together she'd done her best to avoid showing the covered parts of her even when I'd asked what was beneath. And as she unwrapped I finally saw: her arm was covered in a mass of twisting scars, from short cuts to long gashes, even some burns. As I watched her unwrap the other arm it was exactly the same and when she pulled off the shirt her entire stomach and shoulders were covered as well, one especially gruesome scar stretching diagonally from her ribs to her hipbone. She looked down at me, self-consciously crossing her arms in front of her.

"What the hell happened?" I breathed.

"I was…held captive for a period of time. They, well, tortured me. This is the result."

"Akira…" She couldn't seem to make eye contact as my mind reeled. _So this was the big secret she's been hiding. She thinks her body is hideous, she thought it would turn me away but in reality…_ "Where are the bastards who did this?" I demanded, sitting up furiously, "I'm going to – " She cut me off with her lips, kissing me long and deep. This time when she went to take my headband off I allowed her and she pulled away, looking into both my eyes for the first time.

"Kakashi," she whispered. "I…I love you."

The world seemed to stop as everything went dark, everything but the woman before me, shining with ethereal beauty.

"I love you too."

And our lips were together again. We couldn't seem to get close enough as our bodies pressed against one another and within moments our remaining clothing was shed. Akira's lips were like heaven, soft and full and they, along with her tongue moved with such skill that I felt I could orgasm off simply a kiss. However she had different ideas as those lips moved down my neck, my chest, my stomach. Her hands ran up my arms and down over my chest, giving my nipples a quick tweak on the way down and I gasped in surprise at the pleasurable sensations it caused. Then I felt those perfect lips kiss me somewhere completely different and it took all my self-control not to come right then and there, at that simple contact. She took my cock into that skillful mouth, starting off gently, working it over with her tongue before taking it in deeply and sucking hard. I couldn't restrain my moans of bliss as she took my not insignificant length deeper and deeper until she had me consumed entirely. The warm pressure of the back of her throat on my tip was enough to make me cum right there. She looked up into my eyes, grinning as she swallowed every drop. That in itself had me halfway hard again already.

I pounced on her, pinning her onto the bed and stretching her arms up over her as I kissed her deeply then moved down to her nipples, assaulting one with my mouth as my free hand took care of the other. Her body arched up into mine and I kissed my way back up to her ear.

"You know," I murmured, "You said my name and I even made you scream, but you still haven't screamed my name."

"Make me," she panted, and it was all the encouragement I needed. I slowly slid into her, but she had different ideas, flipping us over so she was riding me, palms planted on my chest. She began to move up and down at a pace I had never believed possible and I let out a yell as I felt myself nearing the edge already. I had long prided myself on my stamina, but this…this was something else entirely.

"Akira," I moaned, fisting the sheets as I began to thrust up into her pounding and she gasped suddenly, her sweet spot being hit. Her nails dug into my chest and a moment later she screamed out,

"Kakashi!" The tightening of her around me was all the stimulation I could take and the orgasm ripped through me even greater than when she'd gone down on me.

"I don't know how much more of that I could take before dying," I said and Akira laughed breathlessly. I turned to her and stroked the smooth, soft skin of her face. "I really do love you, you know." She curled tight against me and kissed my chest lightly.

"And nothing could make me happier."

Akira's Point Of View

Kakashi was to be in meetings all day, meetings in which I had no significance since I was barely even a Genin of an unrelated country. So, I set off through the streets to find something entertaining. Everywhere I went people were giving me strange looks, as if I were some kind of alien and just when I was getting fed up with it I came across a familiar face.

"Gaara!" I exclaimed, and everyone who had been staring at me immediately snapped their attention to him then averted their eyes, going about their business with a bit more interest than was normal.

"Akira?" His eyes widened. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I came with Kakashi for the peace negotiations," I explained. We were right in front of one another now and I eyed him carefully, surprised at what I saw. "Gaara, you look…well." Something had changed within the boy, that was for sure. Though the thick lines of black around his eyes remained, the dark circles beneath were almost completely gone and there was a new strength to the way he held himself

"Come with me." Curiosity growing, I followed the boy through the heated streets, the two of us drawing even more looks than I had on my own, these looks laced with fear and apprehension. _The kid wasn't kidding when he said people were afraid of him._ We reached the outskirts of the city and he led me up an incredibly long set of stairs before we emerged onto the top of the wall surrounding the city. I let out a low whistle, looking out over the incredible collection of stone buildings that seemed to stretch out for miles.

"That's quite a sight," I said approvingly.

"I thought you might like it."

I turned back to him. "But that's not the reason you brought me here."

He shook his head, stepping up next to me and looking out over the city himself. "No. I wanted to…to thank you." It seemed almost physically challenging for him to get the words out, but once he said it something in him seemed to relax. "What you said to me that night after the preliminaries," he continued much more easily, "It helped me. When I was fighting Uzumaki Naruto, your words kept running through my head. It may be what opened my ears to him. I realized so many things that day of the fight, so many things that never occurred to me before. A whole new world was opened for me. I no longer believe it is my sole purpose to kill, to defeat others in order to prove my existence. I can be acknowledged simply by having people who care about me, and that I care about."

To his absolute surprise I took his hand in my own and gave it a squeeze. "I'm so happy for you," I said genuinely. "I don't know exactly what happened to you in the past, but this is huge."

He nodded his agreement then seemed to remember something. "Here." He lifted the chain from around his neck, holding out the stone to me.

"Did it not work?"

"No. It actually worked quite well, I've been able to sleep without nightmares or even torment from…well, let's just say I've been able to sleep well."

I smiled at the boy. "Then keep it."

"But your nightmares – "

I shook my head. "I've found another solution to my nightmares. A much cuddlier solution."

Gaara looked perplexed but nevertheless put the necklace back on, tucking it under his shirt. We stood in silence for a few minutes, letting the burning sun heat us as we stood together in contentment. Then I spoke up.

"Gaara,"

"Yes?"

"Why is it the villagers are afraid of you?"

The boy stood silently for a couple minutes and I began to think he wouldn't answer. Then, "If I tell you, you'll fear me as well. I don't know if I could…" He trailed off and I sighed.

"Gaara, I'm not here to judge you. Believe me, if I'm not that easily afraid. But I suppose that if you're not comfortable telling me then perhaps you'll become more so."

"How?"

"I'm here for quite a while," I grinned. "I'll need someone to show me the lovely sights of the Sand Village."

The edge of his lips quirked ever so slightly upward and he gestured towards the city. "Well that's all taken care of."

I laughed. "Not much around here but sand, huh?"

He shook his head. "But I would be willing to spend time with you…form a bond perhaps."

"Why Gaara, I would love to form a bond with you."

True he didn't smile, or laugh, or share much about himself, but he certainly continued to surprise me. As the days passed and we were together from the time I woke until sundown it slowly became evident that the boy had an incredibly subtle and dry sense of humor that on multiple occasions had me choking on laughter. Through him I discovered that the Sand Village truly was a beautiful place, from the fascinating caves beneath the cliffs surrounding it to the lovely oasis just a few miles outside the city. Not to mention the food was fantastic. Everywhere we went we continued to receive those same looks and I was filling to the brim with burning curiosity. What was his secret? What on earth could be so bad? Then, one day, I found out.

The sun was just dipping below the horizon and darkness was falling as we walked back to the Kazekage's building where I was staying when a couple of men stumbled out before us.

"Well hey there, pretty lady," one of them slurred, staggering towards me, "How would you like my friend and me to show you a nice time?"

I smiled politely. "I'll pass, thanks." I tried to step around him but he grabbed me by the wrist so I punched him in the face. He came up swearing furiously and someone grabbed me from behind, gripping me around the waist and pinning my arms in with incredible strength as the first man wiped blood from his nose and came towards me.

"Why I'm gonna – "

"Let her go."

The bloodied man paused, squinting towards Gaara in the darkness. "Aww look, she's got a little kid to protect her. Get lost, punk."

"I said, let her go." The sand around us began to stir though there was no breeze to move it.

The man remained oblivious. "You want me to beat your ass as we – gah!" He screamed as sand wound up around his legs, covering him in a shell up to his neck. "What the – oh, shit!" The man holding me suddenly let go, staggering backwards.

"Fuck, it's him! It's Gaara!" He took off at a sprint, leaving his comrade to fend for himself but a tendril of sand caught his ankle and he toppled to the ground.

"Let me go!" He screamed, as the sand dragged him back towards us, "You stupid demon boy, let me go!" Gaara's eyes narrowed and in a moment the man was completely entombed in sand. The red haired boy reached out a hand in a gesture I recognized from his fight with Rock Lee.

"Gaara, don't!" I shouted, running towards him. He clearly didn't hear me.

"Sand buri – " He was cut off as I grabbed his hand and smacked my own over his mouth. Those black ringed eyes widened.

"Don't," I panted, "You don't have to kill anymore, remember? I know these guys are assholes and I would love to see their heads on a platter for what they've probably done to other girls in the past, but it's not your place to kill them. They're not worth the guilt of blood on your hands."

Gaara gently removed my hand from his face. "I would feel no guilt removing this scum from this earth."

"Please," I said quietly, looking deep into his eyes, "Let them go." After a long moment Gaara lowered his hand and the sand poured away from the two men who could only fall to the ground and lay there quivering.

"Th – thank you," they groveled to me, once they had regained some composure. I replied by giving each a good hard kick to the head.

"However," I conceded, "I see no problem in leaving them to wake up tomorrow afternoon with a splitting headache and a terrible sunburn in all the wrong places from laying outside all day, naked." After I said that I got the biggest smile yet out of Gaara.

As we walked back from where we left them on the top of a cliff Gaara was strangely silent.

"Hey, what's the matter?"

"You saw," he explained hesitantly, "You saw what happens when I lose control."

"I did. But I also saw you stop yourself."

"That wasn't me. You stopped me."

I shook my head. "I could have talked at you all I wanted and not changed your mind. You're the one who let them go. It was your decision." He was silent.

"When I was a baby the demon spirit of the Shukaku was sealed within me."

I stopped walking completely, startled by the sudden confession. "What?"

"That's the reason behind my power over the sand. It's not me, it's the demon inside me. The monster." He was looking everywhere but my eyes. I regarded him silently for a moment then moved forward and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him tight. He stiffened immediately, clearly unsure how to respond to this foreign situation. I stepped away, keeping my hands on his shoulders.

"No offense, Gaara," I smiled, "But I'm still not afraid of you."

He simply stared. "Akira, I – "

"Akira!" We turned to see Kakashi coming out of the Kazekage's building. He ran up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist to lift me up and spin me around. "We're going home!" He exclaimed, setting me down so he could pull down his mask and kiss me.

"Home," I repeated, surprised that I actually was missing the Leaf Village as one might miss their home. Then my lover seemed to notice the other boy standing there.

"Ah," he straightened, "Gaara."

"Kakashi."

"Gaara's been entertaining me the last couple of weeks," I exclaimed brightly and worry appeared in Kakashi's eye.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," I replied, my voice hardening at his reaction, "Is there a problem with that?"

Kakashi blinked, surprised at my tone. "Of course not. I have no right to say who you are and aren't to spend your time with."

"Good answer." I turned to Gaara. "Well, it looks like I'll be heading out tomorrow. I guess this is goodbye for now." The redheaded boy simply nodded and turned to leave. Then he paused.

"Akira,"

"Hmm?"

"It was nice…forming a bond."

I grinned widely. "It was, wasn't it?"

He nodded. "Goodbye then."

"Bye, Gaara."


	9. Chapter 9 Too Good To Last

Chapter 9

"Akira!" Naruto waved excitedly as the woman approached him and his two teammates, "You're back!"

"We missed you," Sakura smiled brightly and Akira's grin widened.

"Well shucks. I missed you guys too." Sasuke stood looking off in the other direction, doing his best to appear cool as usual. Akira resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Hey, is Kakashi around? I need to talk to him."

"No," Sakura sighed, "Sensei is late. As usual." Right then Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke, crouched on a tree branch above us.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone," he raised his hand in apology, "There was this little old lady crossing the street you see, and…" he trailed off as he noticed everyone staring flatly at him.

"I think your students are onto you, Kakashi," Akira stated, and Sakura looked at her, surprised she hadn't used the term sensei. He was, after all, her superior.

"What are you doing here, Akira?" He inquired coolly, ignoring the blonde woman's last comment.

"Apparently the new Hokage wants to see me. I'd like to know what to expect."

He nodded. "You should talk to Naruto, he's spent more time with her than I have."

"What, you mean Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked, folding his hands behind his head. "Let's see…she's got a real nasty temper and tends to hit people a lot. Also she seems kind of sensitive about her age and she's got enormous – "

"Thank you, Naruto," Kakashi cut the boy off, wincing. "I suppose all you really need to know is that she is one of the Sannin and thus incredibly powerful, so just be respectful."

"Oh you know me, I'm always respectful. Thanks, I'll catch you later!"

Kakashi sighed as he watched her stroll away. _I give her five minutes before she offends the woman and causes a fight._

Akira's Point Of View

I was strangely nervous as I stepped up to the door of the Hokage's office. _What could she possibly want with me, a simple Genin from the Hidden Mist Village? Perhaps she's suspicious of foreigners. I wouldn't blame her after what happened. I only hope I won't be forced to leave…_The thought of leaving not just the Village but Kakashi made my stomach drop. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I knocked on the door.

"Come in." I entered the room and was surprised at what I saw. Seated behind the desk was not some wrinkled old lady that I'd expected but rather a blonde beauty in her prime years, a blue diamond apparently tattooed on her forehead. Next to her stood another young lady with dark hair and an adorable pixie cut, holding a small pig in her arms.

"You must be Akira," the Hokage said, and I nodded.

"And you're Tsunade."

The dark haired woman frowned. "She is the Hokage, so it is appropriate and respectful that you address her as Lady Tsunade."

I gazed steadily at her. "I will show my respect when she has earned it." The dark haired woman's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to retort but the Hokage smiled.

"It's alright, Shizune," The blonde woman waved a hand, "I think I like the way she thinks." She folded her hands on the table before her. "So. Ryusaki Akira. From what I understand you did quite well during the Chunin exams but hardly anyone got to see you fight. Not enough of your technique and battle skill was witnessed to promote your rank." I felt disappointment begin to gnaw at my stomach. "But. I've been told that when Orochimaru and the Sand Village attacked you risked your life to protect our village. I thank you for that."

I bowed my head. "It was my honor to serve such a great village."

"That's part of what I'd like to talk to you about." I raised my head, curious. What did she mean by that? "I understand that you are from somewhere far, far from here and that you only became a shinobi of the Mist to become eligible for the Chunin Exams. Is this true?"

"It is."

"Well then. How would you feel about switching your allegiance?"

My eyes widened. "You don't mean – "

"That's right. I am offering to make you a shinobi of the Leaf Village."

"I would be honored."

"Very well. However, if you would like to move up from the rank of Genin I am going to have to see you fight for myself."

"I understand."

She nodded curtly, standing. "Excellent. Let's go down to the training grounds. I'll be your opponent."

"Y-you?" I stammered, utterly shocked.

Tsunade smiled at me. "Don't worry, I don't expect you to defeat me. You simply have to survive in battle for three minutes. Then from that I will promote you to the rank I see fitting." Three minutes. So short a time period meant chances were she wouldn't be holding back. I couldn't help but gulp at the thought.

We stepped out onto an open area, facing each other. Tsunade had shed her kimono and I noticed that she certainly did have enormous…well, she was well endowed. We nodded at one another.

"The match begins now." Immediately she drove her fist into the ground. The force of the blow ripped through the earth, tearing up chunks of rock and dirt and creating a shockwave of danger speeding straight towards me. I quickly leapt into the air, calling up a current of wind to blow me aside so I landed safely on untouched ground, but she was running towards me again. This time her blows were aimed at me and I commenced dodging one after the other, able to feel the sheer force behind them as they whizzed past me. If one of these struck, the match would be over like that. I swore mentally, knowing I couldn't just dodge her forever; if that was all I did there was no way I was exceeding the level of Genin. I took my next opportunity to leap several feet back and out of her reach. The Hokage wasn't even breathing heavy. Then I realized something: the woman hadn't even tried to use Ninjutsu. She was expecting to defeat me with only Taijutsu. _Well then. I'll stick to hand to hand combat as well._

The next moment Tsunade was above me in the air and I leapt back again as she came down with a kick, causing a huge crater to form. Looking around us I saw a number of shinobi had gathered to watch their new Hokage battle the girl ninja from the Mist. I wasn't certain how much time had gone by, but it had to be at least two minutes. This theory was confirmed as the Hokage came at me with increased ferocity, dealing punches and kicks that even I had to struggle to keep up with. Finally I'd been worked into a tight spot and a fist that was visibly glowing with chakra came straight for my head. Instinct taking over I reached up a hand. The fist stopped an inch away from my face.

And it wasn't the Hokage's doing.

Her eyes widened as she realized exactly what had happened and I swore as I realized the significance of it. In less than a second I had called up a gust of wind and let it knock me backward so I flew at least thirty feet. To any outsider it looked as though the blow was responsible, and true to the act I laid crumpled on the ground, eyes closed as though I were unconscious. I heard someone approach me and stand still.

"Asuma, if you would, please carry this girl back to my office. I think she needs medical attention." I felt myself get lifted up and several minutes later I was deposited on the floor and I heard a door close. "We're alone now, Akira," Tsunade spoke again and I opened my eyes, sitting up. "You have incredible speed and agility, but you failed to attack me back. I still don't have a great sense of how you fight, but now I no longer feel the need to further test your loyalty."

I steadily met her gaze. "Why's that?"

"You realized that there were people watching, and you know I am a new authority figure. If they had seen the legendary Sannin Tsunade of the great strength have one of her punches stopped in mid swing by some runt from another village it would have completely voided their respect and confidence in me. By faking that reaction you retained their faith as surely as if I'd defeated you fair and square. You sacrificed your pride for the sake of what's good for the village."

I shrugged. "It was nothing quite so heroic as that makes it sound."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But answer me one thing honestly, Ryusaki Akira."

"Sure."

She leaned forward. "Are you stronger than me?"

I stared at the woman long and hard, my brain working overtime trying to figure out how to respond. It was clear she wanted an honest answer, but what would that do to me? Would she attempt to dig into my abilities? I couldn't have that, I wasn't sure I was ready for others to find out, not after what had happened in my hometown. _But this place is different._ Taking a leap of faith and a deep breath I replied,

"Yes."

She leaned back in her seat. "As I thought. I'd like to spar with you again sometime, Akira, though in private this time. I'd like to see what you're truly capable of."

"I'm actually trying my hardest not to let anyone see that, Lady Tsunade."

Her brows rose, realizing the significance of the title I added. "Well. That is a matter for another day. For now, go out and celebrate your promotion."

"Promotion?"

"Congratulations, Ryusaki Akira," she opened a drawer and pulled out an object, tossing it to me. I looked down at the headband with the leaf symbol etched into it. "You are now a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village."

"She made you a _Jounin_?" Kakashi repeated, "Why that's unheard of!"

"Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are."

"A Jounin," the white haired man mused, "Do you know how long it took me to become a Jounin?"

I arched a brow at him. "Not long, from what I've heard."

"Well no, but still longer than you. You're not even native to the Leaf!"

"Are you complaining?" My tone was challenging, and Kakashi blinked, realizing his error.

"Of course not," he said, stepping close and wrapping his arms around my waist as he gently touched his forehead to mine. "I'm very happy for you, love. It's incredible." Then I saw a mischievous glint take root in his eye. "Perhaps we should celebrate."

I draped my arms over his shoulders. "What did you have in mind?" In response he kissed me deeply, his masterful lips and tongue working wonders on me. A couple hours later we lay sleepily satisfied next to each other, our clothes scattered around the room and the bed sheets tangled in our legs.

"Tell me about where you come from," Kakashi requested quietly as he drew shapeless patterns lightly over my stomach with one finger.

"What about it?"

"Well, if there are no shinobi there, how did you learn to fight so skillfully?"

"It's not that there are no shinobi there," I explained, "It's that they don't use their abilities for fighting purposes, and most people only know one or two jutsu that are passed down through their families. For example my friend Naoki's family consists of a long succession of sword makers, and they incorporate a secret jutsu into their craft to make the swords probably the best in the world."

"Then why are you and your friends ninja?"

"Occasionally someone is born into the more prominent families with more ability for Ninjutsu. Naoki, Daichi and I are the first ones since my grandparents' generation to be born with the potential to be full-fledged shinobi. And we're the first ones in several generations to pursue our potential."

"How did that go over?"

I sighed. "Not well. In fact we were all but driven out of the village. No, that's a lie, I was driven out of the village. Naoki and Daichi followed me."

"You?" Kakashi asked worriedly, "Why you?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

My lover took the hint. He was quite patient when it came to certain things. "How did you learn to be a ninja then?"

"We traveled a lot, picking up new skills and jutsus as we went. Along the way we each discovered our own talents, for example Naoki has quite an affinity for earth jutsu and Daichi is quite good with electricity."

"And what about you? After hearing about your fight with Baki I'd assume your strong point is wind."

"Oh, no," I laughed, "Wind is my worst area. I'm simply forcing myself to depend on it so I can become good at it."

"That's reckless," Kakashi said disapprovingly. "What if you go up against someone more skilled than you?"

"I already have. I'd have been toast against Baki if Naoki and Daichi hadn't stepped in."

"Then what is it you're good at?"

"That's a secret," I winked and Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"You're ridiculous."

"But that's why you love me, right?"

"No," He suddenly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. "I love you because you are intelligent, beautiful, feisty, kind, and you make me smile like I haven't since I was a child. I love you because you're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

My heart leapt as I stared into those different colored eyes. "It's mutual," I whispered, throat tight with emotion. Kakashi soon fell asleep still holding me tight in his arms but I couldn't seem to close my eyes for more than a second. _This is too good,_ I thought as I stared at the ceiling, _This is simply too good to last._


	10. Chapter 10 Memories

**Jennku – thank you as always for the reviews!:) And especially for the constructive criticism, you're totally right, I do need to tone her down a bit. Although she is supposed to be pretty out there on the power scale. And the secrets of her past are beginning to come out so you shall see…(:**

Chapter 10

Daichi strolled casually down the street, hands in his pockets, wishing with all his heart he were somewhere else. _Why here?_ He couldn't help but wonder, _What is so great about this place that Akira chose to stay here?_ He gritted his teeth as he realized the answer: _Kakashi_. Akira had fallen in love and forgotten all about their pact, the pact she herself had initiated. He still remembered that day with perfect clarity.

"_We're different than the other people here," she explained as they sat in the sand box, drawing designs with their fingers, "Different than the other kids our age. Different than the adults. That's what my parents tell me."_

"_But I don't want to be different," Naoki frowned, looking over at the other children playing happily together on the playground, "Why can't we just be normal?"_

"_Who wants to be normal?" Daichi snapped, "Everyone else is dumb. We're better than them."_

"_No, not better," Akira corrected, that familiar thoughtful look on her face, "Just different. Stronger, yes, but not better."_

"_Brother doesn't like me anymore, since it happened," Naoki sighed, picking up a handful of sand. "He says it's wrong that the younger brother inherited the power. He says it should have been him, since he's going to be the next head of the family, the next great sword maker." The little dark haired boy let the sand slip between the gaps in his fingers. Akira reached out and caught it in her own palm as it fell._

"_It's okay, Naoki. Father doesn't like that I can do the things I do either. He says they're signs from the devil. But mother always says that the people like him simply don't understand. That we're not evil, we're just special."_

"_But brother is mad at me, I don't want to be special."_

"_Then you need a different brother."_

_Naoki looked up, surprised. "What?"_

"_Yeah!" Akira exclaimed, suddenly excited, "That's it! Daichi can be your new brother, and I'll be your sister!"_

"_But we're not related," Daichi pointed out and the little girl waved a hand._

"_Doesn't matter. As long as we promise to always be there for each other, to always love and support each other, to always stay with each other, that's all we need. We can be siblings in all but blood."_

"_In all but blood," Naoki repeated quietly, then his eyes lit up. "I like it!"_

"_Good!" Akira grinned, "Then let's make it a pact."_

Daichi smiled at the distant memory, remembering how full of light and happiness Akira had been so long ago. But that had been before everything, before her father, before she'd been through hell. A familiar gut wrenching guilt took root. _Those men who discovered Akira's one weakness, the one thing that keeps her from being a force of nature…we should have gotten there sooner, we should have rescued her before they did what they did to her…we could have saved her from those scars._ Daichi shuddered and pushed away the bloody memories of that day, coming back to the world around him – just in time to collide with someone.

"Watch it," he snapped as he stumbled to regain his balance, then froze. On the ground was an adorable, blushing little girl with short, dark blue hair and a white coat that seemed to swallow her whole.

"I – I – I'm sorry, sir," she stammered, looking down and nervously tapping her fingers together. Daichi felt something strange move within him, something he'd never experienced before and couldn't quite put a name to, but for some reason he suddenly felt very tender towards the young girl.

"No, I'm sorry," he abandoned his usual gruffness and reached out a hand to help her up. She stared at the hand for a long time before finally taking it. He pulled her to her feet easily.

"Th – thank you," she said, blushing even deeper.

"No problem. I should have been watching where I was going. I'm Daichi, by the way, Fukayama Daichi."

"I – I'm Hyuuga Hinata," the girl introduced herself quietly.

"Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too. Well I should really get going, my father is expecting me…" And with that she stepped around him and hurried away, leaving the man to stare after her.

"How strange," Daichi observed as he watched her retreating form. "How very strange."

Akira's Point Of View

My first mission as a Jounin of the leaf village and what was I doing? I was escorting a bickering old couple to the nearby Hidden Rain Village, a mere C rank mission. Not to mention I was stuck with a couple of argumentative brats.

"I see you looking at that young girl, can't seem to take your eyes off her, can you?"

"I've been on this earth for eighty six years, I think I deserve to witness some beauty before I die!"

"You deserve to be put in jail you perverted pedophile!"

This conversation continued to my right as to my left Ino and Tenten nearly clawed each other's eyes out.

"What are you talking about, Tenten, saying Sasuke isn't gorgeous?"

"I'm not saying he's ugly or anything, I'm just saying there are much more attractive guys out there."

"How could you? Sasuke is a god among men, he's absolutely beautiful!"

"You do realize how creepily obsessed you are, right?"

A throbbing headache was beginning to take root in the back of my skull as the two pairs continued to go at it. It had been like this from sun up to sun down for the past three days since we'd left the Leaf Village. Add that to the fact that the journey was taking twice as long as it should have due to the two elderly folk's poor stamina the stress was just piling up. We were passing through a small canyon when I smelled a change in the air.

"Grandma Hitomi, Grandpa Minoru, Ino, Tenten, we'll be taking shelter in that cave for the night," I indicated the hole in the rock face.

"But Akira," Ino protested in her whining voice, "It's barely past noon."

"Would you rather get drenched in the thunderstorm that's on its way?"

"Thunderstorm?" Tenten frowned, "But there's not a cloud in the sky."

"The pretty blonde's right you know," the old man Minoru spoke up, "I thought my joints were aching because of all this walking but my body predicts weather as sure as any farmer. If it's telling me right we've got a massive storm coming."

I nodded at him in appreciation. "That settles it then. We'll set up now. Tenten, Ino, go gather what firewood you can find and bring it into the cave. I'll go see if I can catch us some game. You two just sit tight," I nodded at the old couple and everyone set about their tasks. I climbed up the canyon wall and not far away from its edge I found a small stream thick with fish. Grinning, I decided to use the opportunity to brush up on my water jutsu. Forming the proper hand sign I focused my chakra and a section of the water began to rise slowly, pulling fish with it. In a moment I had a bubble of water floating in the air with several fish swimming about in a panic inside and I began to move it towards the shore. However, as I did so the rest of the water in the stream began to stir strangely, choppy waves rocking its surface and the fish began to leap out of the water several at a time. My control over my jutsu began to weaken as the water in the bubble did the same, then suddenly bubbles began to rise in both the stream and the sphere of water and I gasped, completely letting go of the jutsu as I realized it: the water was boiling.

"No!" I cried out, "No stop it!" A memory flashed through my mind.

_The sun was high, the sky clear over a brilliantly blue lake, calm but for the children splashing in its shallows. Laughing, a little girl ran for the water herself, leaping and turning, enjoying the brilliance of it all. Her parents watched fondly from where they sat on a blanket on the sand, holding hands with her mother's head rested on her father's shoulder. The young Akira paused in her playing to wave at them._

"_Mommy, Daddy, look what I can do!" Those little eyes closed as she concentrated and suddenly the water around her began to stir, swirling around her in a circle. Then a thin tendril began to rise up and the little blonde girl giggled, directing it with her hands as she moved it about through the air. That's when disaster struck. The entire lake began to move strangely, waves coming towards the shore though there was not even the slightest gust of wind, and the others in the water began to notice it getting strangely warm. Most of them grew wary and scampered frightened to the shore, but one remained oblivious, continuing to frolic around, tossing a ball to himself. Until he started screaming. The entire body of water was boiling, scorching his skin as he stood until he collapsed beneath its surface, writhing in pain._

"_Akira!" Her mother shouted, running to the water's edge, "Stop it! Let the chakra go!"_

_The little girl just blinked at her, confused, and let the water she'd been playing with drop. As soon as she did the lake calmed and cooled and several people rushed towards the little boy who'd been trapped. He wasn't breathing when they pulled him out._

"_What happened, mommy?" Young Akira asked as her white faced mother grabbed her hand and pulled her ashore, "What's wrong with that little boy?"_

"_He just got a bit overtired, dear," the woman explained, hurrying to pack up their things, "It's time for us to go."_

"_But why? And why is daddy staring at me like that?" It was the first time she'd seen that expression in her father's eyes: fear. And it was as he looked at her. It took the healers three days to get the little boy's burns to the point where they could be bandaged and he barely survived, scarred for the rest of his life. _

I gasped, jerking myself out of the memory to realize that the water before me had calmed again. I shuddered. For years I hadn't realized that it had been my fault, I hadn't known the reason for the suspicion and anger behind the glares of my fellow villagers, I hadn't known the reason for the abhorrence in my own father's eyes when he looked at me. Not until that fateful night he died. Then I found out everything.

A strange smell touched my senses then and I moved towards the stream to find many fish carcasses floating on the top. I wrinkled my nose. "Boiled fish. Brilliant." Extremely shaken up, I gathered several and brought them back down to our camp. The sky was now beginning to cloud over and everyone was waiting for me in the cave.

"Akira?" Tenten asked as I entered, "Are you alright?"

"Of course!" I replied brightly, "Why wouldn't I be."

"I don't know. You just look pretty pale, like you've seen a ghost or something. Hopefully you're not getting sick."

"Let's hope not," I said genuinely, shuddering as I remembered the last time I'd gotten ill. Compared to that, the incident at the lake was nothing. Sure to our predictions, a vicious storm rolled in hard and fast, shaking the ground with the power of its thunder and lighting up the sky like midday as lightning struck. Luckily we all huddled safe and warm next to the fire, clear of the torrential rain and gusts of wind. The next morning the sun was high in the sky and we rose to see the wake of destruction left over from the night before. Trees were split in half, rocks lay spewed everywhere and the canyon now had a thin stream of water running down its middle.

"Thank god the valley didn't flood," Ino commented, looking around us and everyone nodded in agreement.

"We'd best get going," I said and we continued on. It wasn't until late afternoon that I felt the other presences. We were being followed. "Ino, Tenten," I called out casually, "Come here, I've got a question for you about the Sasuke situation." The two girls approached and I lowered my voice. "We're being tracked. I sense three presences so far but there could be more. They're probably bandits so be on your guard. Chances are there's a point up ahead that will be perfect for them to ambush us."

The old lady looked sharply in our direction though out of earshot. "Something wrong?" She inquired a bit too casually.

"Nope," I smiled, "Nothing at all. Just wondering whether Sasuke's older brother was ever as attractive as he is." The old woman grunted and turned back to her husband, continuing their conversation. However she'd succeeded in raising my suspicion and I began to wonder if the trackers I felt were actually random robbers. _Tsunade assigned me an effortless mission to get experience with leading a team and giving the runts a chance to get out in the field. She knows there are bandits in these parts, probably expected us to go up against a couple, but if there's something else going on we don't know about…things could get dangerous._

All of a sudden I sensed it and tackled Ino to the ground; a kunai stuck in the tree in front of her, passing right through the space where her chest had been. Sure enough, we were under attack.


	11. Chapter 11 Failure

Chapter 11

Akira's Point Of View

"Tenten! Ino! Protect Hitomi and Minoru! Get ready for a fight." Immediately the two girls leapt over to the elderly couple, pulling out their weapons. I sent a kunai flying into the trees and was rewarded with a rustle as someone dodged, allowing me to pinpoint their location. However I wasn't able to do much about it since five men dropped to the ground around me. One stood taller than the rest and stepped forward. He had long purple hair and a scar running from his cheek to his chin on one side, his eyes beady and narrow and nose thin and pointed. The pristine state of his clothes and the regal posture with which he held himself immediately clued me in that he was not some ordinary bandit. A quick glance around me revealed that the rest, on the other hand, were. _Curious._

"Who are you, then?" I asked the man, hands at the ready to reach for my swords.

"I am Keisuke. I have no quarrel with you."

I snorted. "Kind of proved that wrong when you threw a kunai at my subordinate."

"I apologize for that. One of the men in my charge got hasty."

"If you don't want to fight, what do you want?"

"I want them." He raised a finger to point at the old couple I was escorting.

My eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"That is none of your concern. Simply hand them over and we will be on our way."

"Not going to happen."

"Very well," the man looked almost convincingly regretful, "You will all die."

I drew my swords. "Challenge accepted." All four of the other bandits came at me at once and I slashed my sword through the air, sending a gust of wind at one then kicking another with enough force to send him flying. With that taken care of, I turned my attention to the other two. One came at me with a mace, forcing me to dodge and spin right into the reach of the other's ax. Luckily I was able to block with the sword but then I had a man coming at me from either direction. I grinned. _Idiots._ As soon as they got close enough I leapt into the air, catching them completely off guard and as I distracted them by hovering in midair supported by a current of wind they ran straight into each other. I looked down to see a lone bandit sneaking up behind Tenten who was doing battle with two men at once. At once I dropped down and took him out with a good slice to the stomach just as the young girl was finishing with her men. She turned to me, panting, and nodded her thanks. I winked at her and leapt back into the fray.

The amount of bandits the man Keisuke had under his control was seemingly endless and being the one bearing the brunt of the attack I was exhausted by the end of it. By then I had sunk so deeply into battle mode that I didn't even notice the man before me was the last until I sent him flying into the forest. I straightened, breathing heavily, and faced the man in charge of all of them. His hands raised and he began to clap slowly.

"Very impressive," Keisuke congratulated me, "I was doubtful at first whether you'd be able to uphold the standards of the Leaf Village but you proved yourself quite well."

"Does that mean you're giving up?"

"Not a chance." His hands flashed through symbols before he spoke, "Earth release: Double suicide decapitation." Two screams sounded out behind me and I turned to see Tenten and Ino with only their heads sticking out of the ground and then out of the earth before them leapt a second Keisuke. I swore. _He must have gotten under them some time during the battle when we were all distracted. But that means…_I threw a shuriken at the man with whom I'd been conversing, increasing its speed with a bit of wind jutsu and it struck solidly. He dissolved into crumbling rock.

"A stone clone," I nodded, "Very good. So you're from the Hidden Rock Village?"

His eyes narrowed. "That is none of your business."

"Ooh, struck a nerve, huh? What does the Hidden Rock want with a couple of bickering old people?"

"I am not connected to the Hidden Rock," Keisuke snapped.

"The fact that you protest so emphatically makes me think otherwise." In response the man growled and began forming more hand signs.

"You are going to die, girl. Earth release: Mud river." Immediately my feet began to slide beneath me and I looked down to see the ground had turned to slippery mud, pulling me to the side with a slight current. Keisuke charged towards me, kunai drawn, and I made to leap aside but one foot stuck as the other slipped and it was pure luck that I avoided the attack as much as I did by falling on my face. However I was rewarded with a serious gash to my upper left arm.

"Damnit," I muttered, fighting to push myself back to my feet but the man came back, forcing me to roll out of the way. Luckily I was far enough to be on solid ground again and recovered enough to stand, only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. My eyes widened in realization and I jumped into the air as he exploded from the ground beneath me. Unfortunately the added weight of all the mud had caused me to miscalculate and his eyes lit up as his hand closed around my ankle, swinging me around and throwing me through the trees with such force that I rolled to a stop beside a river a hundred feet away. Alright, so depending on wind jutsu wasn't going so well. I pushed myself upright, wincing as my arm was agitated, and faced the purple haired man who was emerging from the trees.

"You are weak," he scorned, "You are a pathetic excuse for a shinobi."

"Please," I begged, stumbling backwards onto the river, "You don't have to kill me. You can take the old people, just let me be!"

Keisuke grinned cruelly. "I think not. You know more than you should now, so I'm afraid I'm forced to silence you. Permanently." He steadfastly walked forward until we were facing off on the water. I fell to my knees, hands planted on the wet surface below me.

"Can't you just let us go?"

He laughed maliciously. "Even if I could, I wouldn't. It's too much fun to watch weak people like you die." Well, there went his last chance. I gathered chakra in my hands, smiling to myself.

"Lightning style: Electric current," I whispered, then watched as sparks darted through the water towards my opponent. He never saw it coming and the electricity hit him brutally hard, causing him to convulse in the air before dropping into the water with a splash, completely unconscious.

"That takes care of you," I said casually, standing up and brushing my hands off. I picked up his limp body and slung him over my shoulder to carry back to the others, tying his hands and legs tightly together.

"You did it!" Ino looked incredulous from where her head was sticking out of the ground and I frowned.

"Well you don't have to sound so surprised about it. I am a Jounin, after all."

"But wind jutsu is so ineffective against earth!" Tenten exclaimed, "That's incredible!"

I snorted. "If I'd have stuck to wind jutsu I'd have been creamed. That's not the only style I know." As proof I gathered my chakra again and manipulated the earth around the two girls so it began to churn, slowly pushing them further towards the surface. As they stumbled into the open air, gasping, I turned to the old couple we were escorting.

"I think the two of you had better explain, now."

Old woman Hitomi sighed deeply. "Very well. We – " Out of nowhere her body jerked, her back arching and she fell to the ground, seizing.

"Hitomi!" Her husband cried out, falling to his knees at her side before he himself began to have the same reaction.

"Old man Minoru!" Ino shouted, running to his side. _What the hell?_ Was all I could think as I knelt between the two. "What do we do?" The blonde girl demanded, looking at me pleadingly.

"I – I don't know, I know nothing about medical Ninjutsu, I know nothing about medical anything…" Foam began to pour out of the two's mouths and their eyes rolled back in their heads as they continued to jerk. Then, finally, they both lay still. The three of us from the Leaf could only stare. What had just happened? I looked up just to see a grinning head in the shadows vanish into the ground. I cursed, running towards the spot and finding only a long, thin tube laying on the ground. Whoever had been there had vanished. Slipping the tube into my pack I made my way back to the others.

"Poisoned," I stated, "I'm guessing someone shot a poisoned needle at the two." I mentally kicked myself for having not sensed the presence and done something to prevent the situation.

"There's nothing you could have done," Tenten tried to console me but I ignored her, kneeling beside the old couple's heads. Gently I put my hands over their eyes and closed them.

"Sleep peacefully," I murmured, and each of us carrying an immobile body we set off back towards the Hidden Leaf Village, the heavy weight of a failed mission weighing on our shoulders.


	12. Chapter 12 The Next Mission

Chapter 12

Akira's Point Of View

"What the _hell_ happened?" I demanded, bursting into the hospital room and startling everyone within.

"You know, Akira, it's generally good courtesy not to nearly give hospital patients a heart attack by unexpectedly crashing into the room," Kakashi said calmly but I ignored him, going straight to Naruto.

"Are you alright?" I asked worriedly, taking stock of the many bandages on his head, face and arms. "What the hell happened?" In the time I'd spent in the Leaf Village I'd come to be quite fond of the energetic little blonde boy as well as the other Genin. They were all good kids. That's why when I'd heard the news I'd come straight to the hospital.

Naruto was staring at his hands. "I went after Sasuke."

I blinked. "Sasuke? Where did Sasuke go?" I could literally feel the tension in the room increase and for a long moment nobody answered. It seemed Naruto couldn't as he rapidly blinked his eyes, obviously restraining tears, whether angry or sad I wasn't sure.

"He went to Orochimaru," Kakashi finally told me. "Naruto went after him and tried to stop him. They fought, Naruto lost. And Sasuke is almost surely with Orochimaru now."

I swore. "Honestly. I'm gone on a mission for one week and all hell breaks loose." Then I looked closer at Kakashi and noticed the signs. "Come on, Kakashi. I think Naruto needs some alone time." The man looked to Naruto who shrugged and Kakashi took that as a yes, standing to follow me. We were silent walking back to his apartment. The moment the door closed behind us Kakashi rounded on me, kissing me passionately. Almost before I knew what was happening he had my shirt off and was working at my bandages when I realized what was going on and pushed him away.

"Kakashi, you can't just avoid this by distracting yourself,"

"I'm not," he breathed, stepping closer and kissing down my neck, his hands continuing to work clothes off.

"Kakashi!" I pushed him away again, harder this time.

"Please, Akira," he begged, something broken in his voice that brought tears to my eyes, "I need this, let me have this."

"No," I said firmly, then pushed him over to the couch. "Sit." He did so, now slumped over and staring at his hands. _Not sure if that's better or worse than trying to rip my clothes off._ "Look," I sat down sideways, facing him. "It's not your fault."

"It is."

"It's not."

"For god's sake, Akira, I left him!" He burst out, suddenly shouting, "I'm his sensei and I left him in that tree, vulnerable. I should have stayed, I should have at least taken him with me on my mission!" He ripped off his headband and chucked it across the room. "What kind of shinobi am I if I can't even help one of my students when he needs me?"

"Kakashi," I kept my voice calm, "Even if you'd stayed with him, even if you'd brought him with you, who's to say it wouldn't have just delayed the process? A week later he may have taken off still. In fact he probably would have."

"Damnit," My lover hissed, burying his face in his hands, "I thought I'd reached him, I thought maybe…" I reached a hand over and rubbed his back.

"I know love, I know. But we'll get him back, you know we will. And I'll do everything I can to help."

"Akira…why are you so good to me? I'm so bad, so useless, and you're..." I swung one leg around so I was sitting on top of him, straddling his lap, and took his face in my hands, looking into his eyes.

"Hatake Kakashi. You are the most wonderful man I have ever known and I love you with all my heart. Are you actually accusing me of having that bad of taste?"

He cracked a smile at that. "You just have to phrase it that way, don't you?"

"Answer the question."

He sighed. "No, I would never say you have bad anything."

"Good. So shut up with the self-condemning nonsense."

"Yes ma'am." I took that opportunity to kiss him softly, lingeringly. "Thank you, Akira," he whispered, and I hugged him tight.

"I would do anything for you."

"And I you."

We kissed again, this time more heatedly and Kakashi's hands strayed to my still bare torso, running fingers up my spine, making me shiver. I quickly divested him of his own shirt and our bodies pressed together, warming and comforting one another as his hands slowly moved towards the clasp of my bra –

"Kakashi!" The door slammed open and the two of us leapt about five feet in the air as Guy came sauntering in. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything, but – " His eyes widened as they landed on me, his mouth moving speechlessly.

"Yes?" I inquired calmly, arching an eyebrow with my hands on my hips, "You were saying?"

"L – lady Tsunade is asking for Akira and I heard she was…here."

"Well congratulations. You found me."

"See something interesting, Guy?" Kakashi's tone was deadly and the other Jounin ripped his gaze from me, shaking his head. I noticed Kakashi had managed to get his mask back up in time.

"I'll just, ah, get back to training then," the man with the bowl cut quickly scurried out of the apartment. Kakashi and I glanced at each other. We couldn't help it; we burst out laughing.

"You called for me, Lady Tsunade?"

"Ah, yes, Akira." The Hokage looked up from the vast piles of paperwork scattered over her desk and I felt a surge of pity for the woman. _True you're the most respected shinobi in the land, but the paperwork's gotta be a bitch._ "I have a mission for you, highly classified S-rank. Hopefully it will make up for your recent failure."

I was surprised. "S-rank? I expected you to be drudging up D-rank missions for me as punishment."

"Normally I would," the Fifth Hokage admitted, "Seeing as how spectacularly you failed on your last mission. Speaking of which, ANBU is currently interrogating the man you brought back, we're attempting to find out exactly why he was after Hitomi and Minoru. Also, the old couple's autopsies showed that it was most certainly poison, an incredibly fast acting one native to the Land of Earth. That, coupled with what you've told me leaves me with some questions for the Tsuchikage."

"Will you keep me updated?"

"Of course."

"Brilliant. My mission?"

She bit her lip, actually looking concerned. "Well…it's a bit out of the ordinary."

I tilted my head to the side. "What do you mean?" _More out of the ordinary than giving an S-rank mission to a new Jounin who just fumbled a mere C-rank? Hard to imagine._

"You heard about Sasuke's running off I assume?" I nodded. "Well it is pertaining to that."

I perked up a bit. "Excellent. Anything I can do to help."

"Anything?" There was some significance placed on the word and I felt a sinking feeling take root in my stomach.

"What's the mission?" I asked slowly.

"Orochimaru has become a danger we cannot ignore. We have tried getting spies in there before, but none have succeeded. He is much too sharp, much too powerful. But despite all that, he is still a man."

"And?"

"And all men have a weakness. I would like you to exploit this weakness."

Comprehension dawned and the room about me got dizzy as I realized what she was asking. "Oh, my god. You want me to seduce Orochimaru."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Oh my god. You want me to seduce Orochimaru."

"To put it bluntly, yes. I want you to seduce Orochimaru."

"You can't honestly expect me to agree to that!" I exclaimed, "For the love of god, that's just…dirty! And I have a boyfriend!"

"Kakashi doesn't have to know." I didn't even bother asking how she knew who it was.

"So now you expect me to lie to the man I love? As well as cheat on him on your orders? You must be mad."

She sighed deeply. "I thought this might be your reaction. Believe me Akira, I hate myself for having to ask you to do this but I see no other choice. We are going after Sasuke in other ways, but we need _information._ We need to know if Orochimaru is planning to destroy the village again, what his plans are for Sasuke, any available information about Akatsuki, so much more. And we can't get any of that at the rate we're going now. Akira, I know it is a great sacrifice but…I'm afraid. I'm afraid I couldn't defeat him if he came after us again, I'm also afraid for Sasuke. You are powerful and beautiful enough that you could pull it off without being harmed, I know no one else who could accomplish such a thing."

"Are you trying to guilt trip me?"

"Yes. I will use any means necessary to convince you, but I will not force you. If you choose not to accept the mission that is your choice and I will abide by it." I thought back to the forest, to the chilling aura cast by the legendary Sannin, to the way he'd so heartlessly tried to kill Sakura and Naruto. I thought of what he'd done to Kakashi by taking Sasuke away, the guilt and pain the man I loved felt and the suffering Orochimaru had caused through his attack on the Leaf. I thought of all the homes and livelihoods destroyed, the lives taken, and most of all the Third Hokage. The man who had given his life to protect this village, the village that had taken me in and made me one of its own. The village I had promised to serve at any cost. _But what if that cost is betraying Kakashi in such a way? _ I wasn't sure I could do it. _But I have to._ It was clear I had no choice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Alright."

"You'll…do it?"

"Yes. But you tell no one. No one but Kakashi, you and I are to know about this, understood?"

"Understood. You're going to tell him?"

I rubbed my temples tiredly. "I have to." I turned to leave.

"Akira,"

"Yes Lady Hokage?"

"I'd almost hoped you wouldn't accept."

"But you knew I would."

Both of us knew it would not be something soon forgiven.

When I returned to Kakashi's he was sitting in the exact same spot I'd left him, staring at the floor. The second I entered and saw him there I couldn't help it; the tears started streaming down my face.

"Akira?" He immediately stood and hurried over when he saw, "What's the matter? Did Tsunade do something? Say something? What is it?" I took several deep breaths, trying to control myself, but I couldn't seem to stop crying.

"I…I know a way to help save Sasuke."

"You do? That's wonderful…but why are you crying? Akira please, tell me."

"She gave me a mission. And I accepted. I'm so sorry, I just can't let Orochimaru win, not when it would tear you and this village apart."

"What are you saying? What mission?"

"I have to go to Orochimaru."

Kakashi stared at me. "You're…going to be a spy? No! No way in hell, I won't allow it, Tsunade knows the failure rate of those who have tried to infiltrate Orochimaru's operations, you'll be killed!"

I gulped. Here it went. "It's not a normal infiltration, Kakashi. My job is to…get in personally. With Orochimaru."

My lover frowned. "What does that mea – " His eyes widened as comprehension dawned. "You can't be serious," he whispered, voice husky. "She can't have ordered you to do…_that_."

"It wasn't so much of an order as a request."

"Son of a bitch!" Kakashi swore harshly and I winced away.

"Kakashi, I – "

"Please tell me you're not serious. Tell me you're not going to do it."

"What would you do?" I asked, looking into his eyes, "If you had a chance to put everyone out of harm's way? To save Sasuke? To bring down Orochimaru?"

Kakashi just looked at me for a long moment then closed his eyes. "I understand." A wave of relief swept over me. "I just…the idea of him touching you…" his voice broke at the end and I flung my arms around his middle, squeezing tightly.

"I know," I whispered, "I can't stand it either, believe me, but…well, you know. I don't have much of a choice."

"So where does that leave us?" I let go of him, stepping back and looking away.

"You don't have to pretend you haven't already decided. I understand. I won't hold it against you, I mean – " I was cut off by the fact that Kakashi pressed his lips furiously into mine, kissing me with the desperate passion of a dying man, leaving me breathless when he broke away.

"I can't stand it. I can't stand the idea of you being around him, him touching you, any of it. But there's no way in hell I'm going to let him take you from me. I love you and you're mine."

"Always." That night we simply laid together, holding one another close. Occasionally one of us would say something, but for the most part we just enjoyed the intimacy, the touch of the one we loved. The night ended all too soon.

"Be safe," Kakashi urged me as we stood at the gates of the village in the misty dawn.

"I will," I promised, and began walking. I didn't look back, knowing if I did I may not be able to continue. I felt Kakashi's eyes on me until I disappeared from sight.


	14. Chapter 14 Orochimaru and Stars

Chapter 14

_We believe Orochimaru to be hidden in the Land of Rice Fields,_ Tsunade had said, _Search for the Hidden Sound Village and you'll find him there._ Well I'd searched for the Hidden Sound Village. I'd spent two weeks searching and had come up with nothing. It wasn't until I was taking a walk through the forest one day that I heard something move above me and pulled out a kunai.

"Why don't you come on out?" I called, and a figure dropped to the ground before me. He had white hair similar to Kakashi's pulled into a low ponytail and as he stood he pushed his round wire glasses up his nose with one finger.

"Hello, Miss Ryusaki."

My brows raised. "Kabuto, right? My, I haven't seen you since you dropped out of the Chunin Exams. I heard you ended up being a spy for Orochimaru."

"I hear you became a Jounin of the Leaf Village. Very impressive."

"Thank you. I trust you're not just here so we can congratulate each other on our accomplishments."

"Correct. We hear you've been asking around about the Sound Village."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I am here to politely ask you to stop."

"I'd be happy to, if you would politely show me the way."

"I thought you might say that." He leapt into the air and I noticed the trap a second too late, the ropes flying towards me and tightening around my body. I swore viciously as Kabuto approached me where I laid on the ground completely immobile.

"I should just kill you now," the man sneered down at me, "After all, it's going to happen to you anyway. Unfortunately, however, it is policy to take captives to Orochimaru first. Although I do have the perk of being able to do this – " The last thing I saw was his foot headed towards my face, then the world went black.

I awoke with a throbbing headache centered in my forehead and was able to feel a massive lump forming there already. Sitting up slowly, it dawned on me that I was no longer tied. Around me it was almost completely dark, the only light coming from torches and candles here and there and I squinted into the dimness, trying my hardest to get some idea of my surroundings. Then I heard one of the most frightening noises in the world and my heartbeat sped up.

"That is correct. My sweet pets are slithering around there in the darkness, just waiting for a meal. Many of them are eager to taste you." I recognized that voice from our meeting in the forest.

"Orochimaru," I said coldly.

"Hello again, Ryusaki Akira. I've been waiting for you." My heart nearly stopped; did he already know my mission? Was I doomed from the start?

I kept cool. "Oh?"

"Oh, yes. I knew they would sacrifice the foreign ninja to go find Sasuke, and sure enough, here you are." I struggled to hide the wave of relief that swept over me. So he knew I was sent on a mission from the Leaf, but I'd been expecting that. It could be worked around.

"I am a Jounin of the Hidden Leaf Village. I am no longer a foreigner."

He chuckled lowly, chillingly. "Oh, how wrong you are. The Hidden Leaf is a horribly bureaucratic and selfish place. You will be forever viewed as an outsider no matter how hard you work to get into their good graces. The Leaf will never fully trust you."

"Yes, Orochimaru, you despise the leaf, I know that already, feel free not to bore me with your rants."

Yep, that's me. Master seductress.

Suddenly a splitting pain crossed my back and I gasped in surprise, turning to see Kabuto there, whip in hand.

"You will not speak to Lord Orochimaru so. Show him the respect he deserves."

"Honestly, what is it with you Sannin-followers and respect? First Shizune, now this. You lot are obsessed." Then I realized my shoulders felt strangely light. "Where are my swords?" I demanded lowly.

"In my private chambers," Kabuto grinned maliciously, "I find I quite like them." In a flash I had that whip around his neck and was pulling tight.

"You give me my swords back," I hissed into his ear, "Or I will rip your head off." Kabuto struggled to loosen my grip, to throw me off him but to no avail.

"Well, Kabuto, she's certainly got you locked down." All of a sudden a flash of pain washed through me and my grip loosened enough for the man to wiggle free.

"Shit!" I swore, looking down at my leg to see a snake as big around as my thigh chomping down on my calf. "Get it off me or it dies, Orochimaru." The snake obediently loosened its jaws and slithered away, leaving me with two gaping holes in my leg.

"Shall I kill her now, Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked, eyes narrowed as he came towards me, hand beginning to glow with chakra. I crouched in a ready position, preparing for the fight to begin but the Sannin's words surprised me.

"No. I think I'd like to keep her." Both of us turned to him in surprise.

"But sir – "

"That is my decision, Kabuto," the younger man winced at the ice in his superior's tone, "Take her to a room and ensure that it is well reinforced and guarded."

"But the dungeon – "

"Is for test subjects. I'm keeping her for entertainment purposes." I gulped at that. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to get Orochimaru into bed after all. Once we arrived, I carefully took stock of the room I'd been provided. The walls were gray stone and the only furniture in the room was a bed, a small table, and a bookshelf filled with scrolls.

"Better than a dungeon," I murmured, then set about tending my wounds. There was a door beside the bookshelf that led to a small bathroom. _Thank god,_ I thought, for after he'd slammed it shut I'd heard Kabuto lock my door from the outside. It wasn't like I couldn't easily pick the lock, but I'd like to stay on my captor's good side while I could. That night as I lay awake in my bed I let my thoughts drift towards Kakashi, wondering what he was doing at that moment, whether he was thinking of me. I closed my eyes and thought of his perfect face, his warm touch, the sound of his voice…_what was that?_ I sat up straight, hearing something scrape against the lock of the door. _Could it be Orochimaru, coming to enjoy his new captive?_ My near heart attack abated as I saw the white hair and realized it was Kabuto bringing my dinner.

"There's even a maid service?" I asked excitedly, "My, this place really is luxurious!" If looks could kill I'd have been dead a thousand times over because of the glare he gave me then. He set the tray on the bed and I reached for it, but his icy cold hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist.

"You know, I should make you pay for the trouble and humiliation you've caused me," Kabuto said gruffly, and I rolled my eyes.

"You already got me once with the whip, and then there's that snake bite. I'd say I've had enough for one day."

"That's not the kind of payment I had in mind." The next second he had me pinned back against the bed, his body weight crushing down on me.

"Get off," I ordered coldly, keeping still.

"Not until I've taken what I deserve." His knees made my legs immovable and his hands kept my arms flat against the sheets.

"You have three seconds. Three, two,"

He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "I'm going to fuck you until you beg for mercy, Ryusaki Akira."

"One." With no particular strain I pushed up against him, sending him flying across the room and into the wall. "Get out of my room."

He stood slowly, hunching over in pain as one hand went to his injured ribs. "Why you little – "

"Kabuto." In the doorway stood Orochimaru, tall and frightening in all his pale beauty. "Out." The man silently obeyed and the Sannin turned to me. "I apologize. I will ensure that he does not bother you again."

"What are your intentions for me?" I demanded and the man regarded me silently for a long moment.

"I do not yet know." And the door was closed and locked again. _He doesn't know? Well what the hell is that supposed to mean? And what do I do now, just sit in this room and do nothing?_ I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. _Oh, Kakashi. What I wouldn't give to be with you right now._

The alarm was raised. She was gone, completely vanished from her room without a trace.

"Find her!" Orochimaru commanded furiously, "I want her returned here immediately! Do _not _let her get back to the Leaf Village and report!" He turned to his most faithful servant. "Kabuto, you lead the search."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

As soon as he was alone again Orochimaru kicked his stone throne in frustration. "Damn you, Ryusaki Akira!" Based on Kabuto's assessment of the girl's abilities she would be halfway back to the village by now and he would have to prepare to move immediately, which was quite inconvenient considering he still had much business to attend to in the area. Feeling in need of some air he angrily stalked outside and leapt up onto the roof of the place, looking up at the night sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it." The sudden voice startled the legendary Sannin nearly out of his pants. It was practically the first time in his life someone had managed to sneak up on him and she hadn't even been trying, she was simply laying there in the shadow, staring up at the stars.

"What are you doing here?" Orochimaru demanded.

"I decided I needed some air," Akira replied casually.

"I have fifty men out searching for you."

"Well that's a bit of a waste, don't you think? I'm right here, after all."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth. The girl was incredibly agitating. Although he was confused about something. "Why? You could be nearly back at the Leaf Village by now, reporting to Tsunade my whereabouts. Why would you remain here where you are being held captive?"

"In all honesty? I don't know." He stared at the girl in disbelief as she sighed almost contentedly. "Look at them," she said, "They're so peaceful, high up in the sky like that. They look down at us and laugh at our petty mortal struggles. That's why they twinkle, you know. It's their laughter." She paused. "It's strange."

Orochimaru couldn't help himself. "What is?" He asked.

"These are the same stars I looked up at when I was a little girl, but I'm so far away from where I was then. It would take me months to get back and yet here I am, seeing the same shapes that I drew in the sky when I was five years old."

"Shapes?" He frowned.

"Uh huh. There's the lion, his name is Rodney. And the rabbit, I named her Amaya because it was raining the night I saw her first. It was strange, the rain was pouring down but the sky was completely clear in one little spot, the spot I could see her. Amaya means night rain." He tilted his head to the sky, seeing nothing but random points of light.

"I see no lions or rabbits."

"That's because you're not looking right. Come here," she patted the ground next to her and he looked down at the girl, startled.

"You want me to…sit?"

"What, is laying on the ground beneath your precious dignity?" In reality he believed it to be so but couldn't resist the dig and defiantly – but carefully – lowered himself to the ground next to her.

"Nothing looks any different," he stated.

"Let me show you. You have to connect the dots in your mind. Here," she pulled him down so they were both laying beside each other and she shifted her head so it was nearly touching his. Orochimaru's throat tightened strangely at her close proximity. "Watch," Akira instructed, and her finger came to life with chakra. She traced a pattern in the air leaving behind a line of blue and from she and Orochimaru's perspective there were now lines connecting several stars. "See? It's a square. You try."

"You honestly expect me to do such a juvenile thing?"

"No. I expected you to drag me back to that room the instant you found me and lock me up again. But personally, I think this juvenile thing is much more fun." He would never in a thousand years admit that he agreed. Hesitantly he lifted his own finger and gathered the chakra, releasing it slowly. Akira laughed when she saw what he drew.

"A star in the stars. Very nice." Strangely enough, Orochimaru felt a smile touch his lips that was in no way fueled by evil intentions or vile thoughts. However, he quickly caught himself and smothered it as well as the emotion behind it.

"I'll be taking you back to your room now."

Akira sighed deeply. "Very well."


	15. Chapter 15 Bittersweet Success

**Themidnighttiger – Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! :)**

**Jennku – I know right! Kabuto's a little prick. I never liked him either. And I promise there is plenty of creepy Orochimaru coming ;) He may be good to Akira, but that's about it…Thank you of course for the reviews, you are constantly inspiring!:)**

**Warning: Lemons ahead!**

Chapter 15

Akira's Point Of View

Before long it had become a nightly tradition for us two to make our way to the roof. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we sat in silence, sometimes we continued to draw patterns in the sky. During the day, locked in my dimly lit equivalent to a prison cell I found myself looking more and more forward to these nightly outings where I got to get out in the fresh, crisp night air. Although it was a mystery to me why Orochimaru continued to join me. Some nights he would only stay for five minutes but some nights we were out there until sunrise. Those were few and far between, but after a month there had been several. It was the night after one of these evenings when something changed. We were sitting together, saying nothing when I felt my eyelids begin to grow heavy, sleep threatening to overtake me. After a few minutes it seemed I could fight it no longer and my head dropped. I didn't realize until perhaps an hour later when I woke up due to the cold that it had dropped onto Orochimaru's shoulder and then I found myself leaning back onto something warm and soft. As my eyes fluttered open I realized the Sannin had positioned himself behind me enough that he was supporting my form, preventing me from falling back.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, straightening suddenly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to fall asleep on you…literally…"

"Yes. It was certainly unexpected." He seemed uncomfortable.

"You could have woken me up."

He shifted awkwardly. "You looked…peaceful." I blinked, turning to look him straight in the eyes. Those golden eyes with the slitted pupils widened as our gazes met and they flickered ever so briefly down to my lips. This could be the chance I needed. Bracing myself, I closed the distance. At first his lips were unresponsive, he was so surprised at the contact, but soon his eyes closed and he leaned into the kiss. I was stunned; the man was a fantastic kisser! His lips worked gently but with enough pressure to satisfy, his skin surprisingly cold which created added sensation to the kiss. After a few moments we broke away, staring into one another's eyes. Saying nothing I stood and began to head back inside, taking his hand and pulling him along with me. We reached my room and the moment the door closed he had me pressed up against the wall, this time kissing me furiously, our lips battling for dominance until that legendary tongue slithered into my mouth. I just about melted at its touch and he explored my mouth while our hands tore at one another's clothes and within seconds both of us were naked. Orochimaru's icy hands ran down my back and down my thighs where he grabbed and lifted me so my legs encircled his waist. I could feel his hardness beneath me and teased him, rubbing on it lightly and in response he moaned in pleasure, lightly biting my lip. That was all the extra stimulation I needed.

"Now," I breathed, and he slammed into me, pressing me up against the wall as he did so over and over again. "Oh, god," I panted, his great length filling me entirely as it pounded oh so pleasurably into me, "_Oh!_" He hit that sweet spot straight on and I felt my nails dig into his shoulders where I held them. We were no longer kissing, this was straight animal hunger, flesh on flesh, both of us fighting to satisfy our sexual needs as fast and effectively as possible. Thoughts of the outside world faded away as I felt the brilliantly burning sensation build within me, increasing to the point where I thought I might burst and then it exploded, orgasm coursing through me with such force that I cried out, my back arching up and a moment later Orochimaru let out his own cry and came inside me. But we weren't done yet. He carried me over to the bed and literally threw me onto it, climbing on top and pressing his lips into mine, nibbling at my lips and massaging my mouth with his tongue. I felt his cool hands slide up my thighs and his lips began to kiss a trail down my neck, chest and stomach until they reached their destination. He ran a finger through my slit and I squirmed, then he lowered his head and that dexterous tongue began to rub right where it needed to, absolutely turning my limbs to jelly. A pleasured "Ahhh," escaped my lips and the man took it as encouragement, inserting a finger as he continued to work over my clit. Just as the sensation was becoming too much to handle the tongue and finger pulled away. Then I experienced a feeling unlike any I had ever experienced before as his tongue replaced the finger, working its way inside and far enough up that he found that little bundle of nerves again and tapped it. I moaned, hips thrusting up towards him and he did it again, harder this time. The more he repeated it the greater my reaction got until finally I screamed out in pure bliss, a second orgasm filling me as the juices flowed out.

His lips returned to mine tasting strangely tangy. "You're delicious," he hissed hands stroking whatever skin he could reach as I struggled to recover.

"You actually made me come," I accused him and that familiarly chilling smile took over his face, my reaction to it strangely aroused rather than put off.

"You shouldn't sound so surprised. What, did I think I was a virgin?" It was true from the way he acted around me I thought he was incredibly inexperienced sexually. Boy, did he prove me wrong.

"Alright then," I grinned, pushing him up and then flipping us over so I was on top, "Why don't I return the favor?" He was fully hard again and I took him into my mouth, letting my saliva drip over his cock so he was ready and then I pulled almost completely off, swirling my tongue around the tip then dipping back down. I repeated this, taking him in deeper every time and his back began to arch, moans of pleasure that I'm sure he tried to suppress forcing their way out from between his lips. _Is it wrong that I'm enjoying this as much as I am?_ I couldn't help but think. Soon I had him entirely in my mouth and my tongue ran along his length, then an idea struck me. With his cock halfway down my throat I convulsed my throat muscles in a swallowing motion and immediately he let out a wild scream, coming hot and hard straight into my throat. I swallowed for real and grinned up at him as he stared at me.

"How the hell…"

"What?" I teased, "Did you think I was a virgin?" He growled, grabbing my arms and pulling me back up next to him, kissing me fiercely.

"Perhaps not, but you're mine now," he said and I felt a strange twisting in my stomach, "All mine."

_Kakashi,_ was all I could think at that moment but I forced the thought from my head, knowing if I were to dwell I would never be able to succeed at what I needed to do. Orochimaru began to sit up but I put an arm over his bare chest, pushing him back down.

"Where do you think you're going?" I demanded.

"Back to my room, of course."

"I think not."

The Sannin frowned at me. "I do not like the way you speak to me. Do you realize who I am? What I've done? What I am capable of?" I rolled on my side, looking him straight in the eye.

"I do. And if you knew the same about me you would understand that you don't scare me one bit." He stared at me in silence for a long moment then let out a deep breath.

"I should kill you for all the insult you offer me."

"Then do it in the morning," I yawned, "For now I'd like to sleep." I snuggled up against him, tucking my head into the nook below his chin so my cheek rested on his chest. His skin was still strangely chilly but I was able to ignore it and was drifting off within seconds. Just before I crossed the brink into darkness I heard him speak.

"Goodnight, Akira."

"You have betrayed me," Orochimaru stated calmly as the pathetic excuse for a human quivered on the ground before him.

"I – I'm sorry, my lord!" The man whimpered, "Forgive me, I beg of you."

"I told you, it is not your place to second guess my orders. It is your place to carry them out without question."

"I will never question you again, I swear, next time – "

Orochimaru laughed a low, menacing laugh. "There will be no next time. Kabuto," the white haired man nodded, approaching the man from behind with a chakra glowing hand.

"No, please," the man pleaded, crawling away from the apprentice, "Don't – ahh!" Several snakes were now sliding over his hands, his feet, slithering up his limbs and tightening around him. After a moment the man was immobile and screaming as Kabuto approached and placed the hand over the man's heart. He convulsed several times before he finally lay still and the snakes slithered away, job well done.

"I do so love your method of taking care of things, Kabuto," Orochimaru complimented the man, "So clean and efficient."

"Thank you, my lord."

"Orochimaru!" Both men looked to the door to see a furious Akira storming in, carrying a snake in one hand. "Keep your goddamn snakes out of my shower!"

"Akira," the Sannin's eyes narrowed, "I am busy."

"So was I, busy getting clean until this thing came up the drain!"

"We will have this conversation later."

"Like hell we will! Next snake that I find in my private area goes up your ass!" Kabuto fully expected his master to lash out immediately; however, he was surprised.

"I would like to see you try to pull that off." Kabuto stared at the Sannin, completely in shock. Just thirty seconds ago this man had ordered him to take the life of someone who had merely questioned an order, now he was letting _this_ slide? What the hell? Not to mention his tone was strange, almost…flirtatious? No, it couldn't be. Not the most coldhearted, evil man to walk this earth. It wasn't possible…was it?

"Challenge accepted," the woman grinned, and Kabuto felt strangely alone in the room as their eyes met. What had happened between these two? What had she done to his master? That's when Akira noticed the body. "What's that?" She pointed at the dead man.

"He didn't like what I asked him to do."

"So you killed him." Kabuto did his best to hide a smile. Here it was, she would be outraged and Orochimaru would finally see her for her true self and allow Kabuto to kill her. Slowly.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Orochimaru asked, tone dangerous.

To Kabuto's surprise and intense disappointment the girl yawned. "Nah. Just curious. I'm going to go finish my shower now."

"Interested in some company?" This time Kabuto couldn't conceal his reaction; he gasped. _They're sleeping together?_ His head was spinning. _How could that be? Yes, Orochimaru has taken lovers from time to time, but only simple one night stands, and it was generally more rape than anything else…he's never had one staying here, much less given one free roam of the place. Has he lost his mind?_

Akira grinned viciously. "You even have to ask?"

"Kabuto," Orochimaru spoke as he stood, his eyes trained on the now retreating form of the gorgeous blonde woman, "Continue with this morning's experiment. Report your findings. I'll be around to check on you sometime."

"Not for a while," Akira called back over her shoulder and Kabuto was surprised the woman could hear from that distance. The Sannin's lips curled upwards as he followed her from the room. Kabuto gritted his teeth. This couldn't go on. Something had to be done about Ryusaki Akira.


	16. Chapter 16 Scars

Chapter 16

Akira's Point of View

Orochimaru and I lay on my bed, soaking wet, simply allowing ourselves to air dry as we rested. Both of us were completely exhausted from the last three hours, and I was surprised the hot water had lasted that long.

"Akira," the man spoke up after a few minutes, "Why do you suddenly have a multitude of scars covering your entire body?"

I gasped, sitting up straight and staring at my body. Sure enough, the marks I had carefully hidden with a special jutsu were fully visible again. "Damnit," I swore, "I must have gotten too distracted to keep up the chakra flow…" I looked away. "You must think I'm hideous."

"Quite the opposite," I felt him come up behind me and press against my back. My eyes widened. He was aroused. Three hours of hardcore sex that exhausted even me, a trained shinobi, and the man was actually hardening at the sight of my many scars. _No wonder the Sannin are considered legendary._

I flipped around, staring up at him. "You…like them?"

"Oh, yes," his tongue slithered out, elongating and tracing along the especially nasty scar across my stomach, "They're simply beautiful." I shivered at the touch, some arousal coming back to me as well.

"Well," I grinned, "Looks like I've found one of your kinks."

"Mmhmmm," that tongue strayed upwards, twirling around one of my nipples, an arm curling behind my back. My breath hissed in sharply and I pressed against him, reveling in the close contact. Orochimaru sat back onto the bed and pulled me on top of him, positioning me over his lap. That long tongue retreated back into his mouth as his hand moved down to my nether lips, running through them briefly with one finger before his thin lips curled into a smile. "My, my, this wet already?" In response I kissed him slowly, lingeringly, and lowered myself onto him. He let out a gasp as I began to move, shifting up and down at a slow pace. After a moment I began to gain speed and force, impaling myself on his shaft faster and faster until he began to moan in appreciation, thrusting up into me as I came down. Even as exhausted as I was, his massive length pounding into me brought me to orgasm within minutes and as I screamed out I felt a stinging pain jolt through my shoulder and the strength of my climax seemed to double, causing my body to arch convulsively and Orochimaru yelled, reaching his point as well.

As soon as the world stopped spinning and came back from white I looked down at my shoulder to see it steadily bleeding, two puncture marks standing out brightly against my pale skin.

"Orochimaru…did you bite me?" The Sannin grinned ferociously, his tongue slipping out and sliding over the wound, licking up every last drop of blood. Then he pulled that snakelike appendage in and kissed me, his mouth tasting strongly metallic and salty.

"I see everything about you is delicious," he murmured into my lips and I stared into those golden eyes, perturbed that I wasn't more bothered by this situation. And strangely turned on. However, my body decided I'd had enough strenuous physical activity for one day and I stood, making my way towards the bathroom. "Where are you going?" He sounded disappointed.

"To rinse this off. I don't think saliva is the most sanitary thing in the world." I paused, looking over my shoulder. "However sexy it may be." I left him grinning on the bed as I set about cleaning and bandaging the wound, using what was left over from what had been left to me after my first day. After a moment my hands began to shake. _What is going on? This man is a monster, a filthy cretin, and I'm in love with Kakashi. So what is wrong with me? Why do I find myself enjoying the sex so much? _I took a deep breath. _Because it's sex, and just sex, _I assured myself, _purely physical pleasure. There's nothing strange in the fact that my body is responding to stimulation, he is, after all an incredibly attractive man. Right. So as long as I accomplish my mission there's nothing to worry about._

When I emerged again Orochimaru was under the sheets, head propped up on one hand as he laid sideways, waiting for me. What I could see of his body was simply beautiful, that paper white chest long and lean, well toned and perfectly smooth. Flawless. Those eyes burned with a furious light, shining with sin and temptation. I slipped into bed next to him and he pulled me close, this time kissing me tenderly, his lips sweetly caressing mine.

"I love the way you feel," he whispered quietly, and I pressed closer, enjoying the feel of his cold, smooth skin. It was like snuggling with a much softer version of a marble statue. Eventually my body heat would sink into him, but it would take a few minutes.

"Orochimaru…can I ask you a question?"

"If you must."

"How old are you?"

"You really want to know?"

I wrinkled my nose. "That means really old, huh? Well how do you look so young then? Is it similar to Tsunade's jutsu?"

The Sannin shook his head. "I have much more effective methods of keeping myself young. Methods that run more than skin deep."

"What are they?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Perhaps in three years when Sasuke is ripe I will show you."

Aha. So there were two pieces of information. One, he was intending to use Sasuke somehow to keep himself young. Two, the boy was safe for three years. _Excellent. That puts me one step closer to being through with this mission. Tsunade will want to know of this immediately, however, so I'll need to find a way to inform her._

"Well," Orochimaru said, sitting up, "I must go check on Kabuto."

I snorted. "The man despises me."

"Yes," the Sannin smiled, "So I've noticed. He will probably try to get rid of you soon, poison your food or some such thing. Make it look like an accident."

"Brilliant."

"Your body tells me you have survived men like him before."

I lightly touched my scars. "That's true."

"I believe you can do so again so I will not worry about it." The man climbed over me and out of bed and I tried hard not to stare at that perfectly toned ass. "I should train Sasuke for a while as well. He's getting restless."

"Alright," I yawned, sleep already beginning to overtake me, "Have fun." Since I was quite excellent at faking sleep I knew that he stayed there and watched me for a good hour, an abnormally tender look on his face. _Interesting…Looks like there's more to Orochimaru than I thought. But if he's capable of being like this, why is he so cruel? What could possibly have made him that way? _It was one more thing I would have to find out.

"She can't be trusted."

"I don't want to hear it, Kabuto."

The white haired man gritted his teath. "I'm sorry my lord, but it needs to be said. She wasn't even raised in the Leaf and she still defended it when we attacked. She's loyal to them, not you. She's going to betray – "

"I said that's enough!" The Sannin backhanded his apprentice, not holding back any strength and the man staggered backwards, falling to the floor. "Get out of my sight before I do any worse." Waves of anger were palpable as they came off Orochimaru. Kabuto scurried from the room.

"He's right you know," I said, stepping out from where I'd been hiding behind a pillar.

"I was wondering when you'd come out," the man said, turning towards me, eyes hard.

I sighed. "You're hurt by it. Let me explain. Yes, I am completely loyal to the Leaf Village. If it came down to it I would defend it should you attack or attempt to take it down. However, I would not allow you to be destroyed. I would protect you both with the same ferocity." The worst part was even I couldn't tell if I was lying or not.

The man's eyes widened. "You…you would?"

I nodded. "Don't ask me why, but I've become quite fond of you. Even despite the fact that you're a perverted old man. But that's why it pains me to tell you…I have to go back."

The Sannin stared at me. "Back? Back where?"

"You know where."

The anger returned. "No. I will not allow it."

"Orochimaru," I said gently, "You know you can't keep me here against my will."

"I can if I personally – "

"What?" I cut him off, "If you personally watch over me every second of the day? Let all your experimenting and power hungriness fall by the wayside? That would destroy you in more than one way, Orochimaru." He was completely silent, gazing at me with those golden eyes like I was the last human left in the world. What he said next was barely audible.

"Don't leave."

"Hey, I don't mean forever," I said soothingly, approaching him and wrapping my arms around him, "Just for a little while. If I failed to narrow down your whereabouts I was supposed to report back in two months. I have just a week to get back, and if I'm not there they'll become suspicious, sending someone after me. And the last thing I want is for them to find out about, well," I gestured at the two of us and he nodded, his crisp exterior returning.

"Very well. But I expect you back."

"As soon as I can manage," I promised, kissing him lightly on the lips. That afternoon I left for the Hidden Leaf Village.


	17. Chapter 17 Team Reunited

**I'm starting to run low on chapters I've already written so I was wondering if there's anything anyone would like to see happen in Akira's future, or with any of the other characters. Let me know if there is, I'd love to hear from you :)**

Chapter 17

Akira's POV

"Well would you look who's back in the village!"

I grinned as I stepped through the gates. "Hello, Kotetsu. It's good to see you." I nodded at his ever present counterpart. "You too, Izumo."

"It's been strange since you left, we'd gotten so used to having you around." Back before the final round of the Chunin Exams after the third round preliminaries I would stop by and converse with the two every day before heading out to find my shady spot on a hill to sleep. The three of us had become quite good friends and the two had probably been the most supportive when they heard I'd been promoted to Jounin.

"_Don't worry about what all the stuffy headed morons of the village are saying," Izumo said, obviously meaning the elders and many of the other Jounin and Chunin, "You deserve it completely."_

"_Agreed," Kotetsu nodded, "You did more to protect the village when Orochimaru attacked than half of them could manage." I blushed deeply._

"_You two are too kind."_

"Have I missed much?" I inquired, "Lay all the gossip on me."

"Let's see…well the third Sannin, Naruto and Sakura just passed by here a few days ago on their way to find the Sound Village and – "

"_What?_" I all but shrieked, "You've got to be kidding! Tsunade let Naruto and Sakura…aw, shit!" I turned immediately and sprinted for the Hokage's building, barreling up the stairs and into Tsunade's office. She looked up from her paperwork, an extremely annoyed expression on her face that immediately turned to shock upon seeing me.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?" I demanded furiously.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Letting Naruto and Sakura go off like that to Orochimaru's! That place is a booby-trapped fortress, they'll be destroyed!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't think me as foolish as to send them without protection. Jiraiya is with them. He's a Sannin as well."

"And you think that will be _enough_? Tsunade, I don't think you understand just how powerful – "

"Shut up." I broke off, surprised at the ice in her tone. "I grew up with Orochimaru, you think I don't know his strength? I knew him from the time he was a child genius until the moment he was exiled forever, and I've fought him since then. I know his power. However, not only do I not expect them to even find the Hidden Sound Village, I've instructed Jiraiya not to let them get in too deep. I trust him, foolish as it may be." I let out a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

"Alright. I'll trust you on this one."

The blonde woman nodded curtly. "Good. Now, how did your mission go?"

I couldn't help the grin that spread over my features. "Oh, I'm in. I'm as in as in can get."

"Excellent. I will organize an ANBU team and have you lead them to the location, we will have Sasuke back within the week."

I shook my head. "No."

"What do you mean no?"

"I found something out in my time there. We have at least three years until anything happens to the boy, Orochimaru intends to use him somehow to keep himself young. Besides, if Sasuke wanted to be here, he never would have left. As things are you're extremely unlikely to get him back here alive. There's probably only one person out there who could change his mind and you've sent him off on a mission that will accomplish nothing more than scaring Orochimaru off to a new location. Which, might I add, will make things even harder for me when returning to him."

"Yes, Akira, I recognize that you are unhappy that I sent them on that mission but – wait, you plan on going back to him?"

I blinked. "Well, yes. I barely scratched the surface, there's plenty of information to be harvested. I wasn't in a position to get anymore out of him, but next time..."

Tsunade frowned. "But Akira…how long do you think you can last? Orochimaru has always had plenty of women, but he shifts interests quite quickly. Not to mention his craft always comes first."

"I don't think we have to worry about that in this situation."

"Why is that?"

"Because Orochimaru is falling in love with me."

The Hokage's jaw dropped. "_What_?"

"You heard me."

She shook her head, recovering. "Akira, you can't be serious. This is Orochimaru we're talking about, now I know you're irresistible to the male species, but this is different. What you're seeing is called sexual attraction."

"Tsunade, I have been many places, known many men. I've learned the hard way to recognize the difference between lust and love. This is almost certainly the latter."

"I'm afraid almost isn't quite good enough for me. But if you're convinced…very well. I'll let you go back. However, I want to be sure it isn't for the wrong reasons."

"Huh?"

The Hokage looked me square in the eyes. "Akira, are you falling for Orochimaru?"

I almost laughed at the thought. "Don't be ridiculous. The man's despicable. Excellent in bed, but that's as far as it goes. I love Kakashi and that's all there is to it."

Tsunade's lip curled. "Please, keep the details about Orochimaru in bed to yourself. The thought makes me sick to my stomach."

"And yet you're the one that ordered me to do it."

She sighed. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, no. I'm going to remind you. And I'm going to keep reminding you until I feel you've suffered enough through your guilt to acquit you for what you ordered me to do."

"I deserve that."

"Damn right you do. Now if you don't mind, I've got somewhere to be."

"Don't bother," she said, tone bored, "Kakashi's out on a mission." I gritted my teeth. "Get your rest, Ryusaki Akira. I have a mission I want you for the day after tomorrow."

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

* * *

><p>"Ryusaki Akira!" I turned at the sound of my name.<p>

"Daichi!" I exclaimed, "Naoki! Hey!"

"Hey?" The blonde repeated, "After all this time that's all you have to say?"

"Uh. Well, yes."

"Damnit Akira, where the hell have you been?"

"All the Hokage would tell us was that you'd been sent on a mission, top secret," Naoki explained.

"Ah," I rubbed my neck embarrassed, "I guess I forgot to tell you guys."

"No shit," Daichi snapped.

"Hey, calm down, it's not like I've been gone for a year."

"Akira," Naoki sighed, "It's been two months. We were worried."

"And pissed," the blonde added.

"But mostly worried," Naoki said, giving our teammate a glare.

My eyes widened as I noticed their headbands. "Oh my god," I gasped, "You two are Hidden Leaf shinobi now too?"

"Yeah," the dark haired man smiled, "They did it to show their appreciation for our help. However we're mere Genin, we lack the glam appeal that you do."

"Plus we're not Ryusaki," Daichi reminded his friend and I frowned.

"Seriously guys, you've known me for how long now? You've got to stop placing so much importance on my family name."

"We can't help it, Akira," Naoki said, "For centuries our families have served yours. It's unnatural that you should view us as equals when you are superior in rank and strength."

"We don't know that for certain. I haven't sparred with either of you in ages." I glanced up at the sky. "But we'll finish this conversation later, I was supposed to be in Tsunade's office ten minutes ago."

"Strange, so were we." The three of us looked at each other and wide grins spread across our faces. We knew what was coming.

* * *

><p>"This is an intense A rank mission, do you three think you can handle it?" Naoki, Daichi and I all nodded in affirmation. "Good. It is your job to go to the Hidden Cloud Village and protect the Raikage's daughter as you escort her back here."<p>

"Why is the Raikage's daughter coming here?" I asked, frowning.

"That is none of your concern. Your duty is simply to get her here safe and alive. Can I trust you to handle it?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Very well then. Be on your way."

"Ah," Daichi sighed as we walked away from the gates of Hidden Leaf, "It feels good to be on the road again."

"Amen to that, brother," Naoki agreed.

"Uh huh," I agreed noncommittally and the other two looked at me.

"You don't sound so pleased," the dark haired one frowned.

Daichi snorted. "It's cause of that white haired guy she's been fucking. It's been a while since she's gotten any." Alright, I accepted that Daichi was generally foul mannered and blunt, but this was taking it too far.

"What the hell is your problem?" I demanded angrily, turning on him.

"What's _my _problem? You're the one going around breaking your promises!"

"What are you talking about? What promises?"

"The ones you made to us!" He shouted, "The ones you created yourself! What happened to the three of us together no matter what? 'To always be there for each other, to always love and support each other, to always stay with each other' is what you said, what happened to that being all we need? You've been so busy with your little fuckbuddy then whatever oh so secret mission that you've hardly given either of us a passing glance."

My eyes widened as I thought back on the past few months. He was right. "Daichi – "

"I know what you're going to say. You've finally found a man who loves you, blah blah blah, you have a new duty to this village. Well you know what – "

"I'm sorry."

"Just because you – wait, what?" He cut off his rant.

"I'm so sorry, Daichi. You're right. I've been so caught up in the excitement of it all that I let who's truly important fall by the wayside."

Daichi blinked, caught up short. "Uh. Yeah. Right." He tried to recover some of his anger. "So what are you going to do about it?" I stepped up to him and wrapped my arms tightly around his middle and squeezed.

"I love you, big brother." The blonde man stood stock still for a moment before relaxing and letting his great arms surround me.

"I love you too, Akira," he sighed, defeated. I stepped back and turned to Naoki, bowing my head.

"I'm sorry to you too, Naoki. And I love you."

He flashed me one of his signature sweet smiles. "I love you too, big sister." My heart warmed and I gripped both of their hands tightly.

"Well. Now that we're on a team it'll be like the old days when we're on missions. So do you think when we're hom – er, in the Leaf Village you two could bear with me when I want to spend so much time with Kakashi?"

"I guess," Daichi grumbled, passing off his embarrassment at the open display of affection as grumpiness as he always did.

"Under one condition," Naoki said, surprising me.

"Oh. Alright, what is it?"

"You have to tell us where you've been for the last two months." My blood turned to ice and I dropped their hands, stomach clenched in anxiety.

"I'd really rather not."

"Akira, as much as I hate to guilt you into it, you owe us."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I know. Okay. I was…with Orochimaru."

The pair's eyes widened. "You found him?" Daichi asked excitedly, "That's brilliant! Did you take him down?"

"Ah, no."

"Why the hell not?"

"That wasn't my mission." I was becoming more and more uncomfortable and Naoki picked up on it.

"What was your mission?" The dark haired man asked slowly.

"It wasn't to destroy Orochimaru. It was to seduce him." The other two froze and no one spoke for about a minute. Then,

"Was your mission successful?"

I shut my eyes. "Incredibly so."

"Well," Naoki said brightly, "If anyone can pull that off it's you. I'm impressed."

I looked blankly at him. "You're…what?"

"I've heard the rumors of how picky Orochimaru is with his women, how he uses them. The fact that I know your personality and you still succeeded is incredibly impressive since I know you wouldn't take any of his crap. Right, Daichi?...Daichi?"

The blonde man was practically red with fury, his fists clenched tight. "I'm going to _kill_ Tsunade!"

"Daichi," I said soothingly.

"No!" He snapped, "She had _no_ right to ask you to do that!"

"I didn't have to say yes."

"But she had to have known you would! It's sick."

"I agree, love. But it was my decision in the end and I stuck with it."

"You've already been through so much though, after what happened in the Demon Country – "

"Let's not talk about what happened in the Demon Country."

He nodded. "Of course. It's just…I can't stand the thought of any more horrible things happening to you."

A wry smile touched my face. "If it makes you feel any better, the sex was actually quite fantastic."

"Gah!" He clapped his hands over his ears. "Akira, I don't want to know!"

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly. You and Tsunade. Is there anyone I can talk to about this stuff?"

"I recommend getting some female friends," Naoki suggested, his face slightly repulsed as well.

"Female…friends?"

"Yes. You know, friends that are girls?"

"Huh. What an odd idea."

"We really were brought up strangely, weren't we?"

"I don't think we know the half of it."

* * *

><p>That night we stopped to camp in a clearing amongst the trees, falling back into our old habits. Setting up camp had become a nightly routine starting when we'd first left the village nearly ten years earlier and we went about our tasks with practiced ease. When the tents were set up and the fire was roaring we sat down to eat. As the sun rose the next morning we set off again and didn't stop until noon.<p>

The three of us sensed it at the same time: there was a presence hidden in the trees. Immediately, Daichi drew a kunai and flung it in the right direction, rewarded with a rustle of leaves as whoever it was dodged the blow. Then my eyes widened.

"Hold on," I ordered, "I recognize that chakra."

Kakashi dropped into view, crouching on a branch above us, a small orange book in one hand. "Hello Akira. Akira's friends," he greeted us.

"Kakashi," I frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"What am_ I_ doing? Your teammate is the one who threw his weapon at me without even ascertaining my identity. That is not the mark of a good ninja."

Daichi's eyes narrowed. "Who says I didn't know who I was throwing it at?"

I sighed deeply. This was not a promising beginning.

Kakashi ignored that with his usual aloofness and tucked the book back into his pack, jumping down to the ground. "Tsunade sent me after you lot to supervise."

"Supervise?" I repeated, prickling, "I'm a Jounin, I hardly think I need to be babysat."

"You are an incredibly inexperienced Jounin, and this mission is of great importance. She wishes to ensure that it goes off without a hitch."

I grunted annoyedly. "Fine. But I'm still in charge."

The white haired man's eye closed in its signature smile as he raised his hands in surrender. "Of course. Pretend like I'm not even here." As we set off through the trees again Naoki approached me.

"Akira," he began, keeping his voice low, "Wasn't that the first time you've seen Kakashi since you got back?"

"Yes," I replied casually, "What of it?"

"Well it hardly seemed…affectionate."

I gave him a look. "Naoki, just because Kakashi and I are together does not mean we have to partake in dramatic displays of public affection."

"I know, but still…does he know about Orochimaru?"

"He does. Look, Naoki, in front of you two is hardly the place for him and me to talk about things, so you'll have to excuse us for keeping it casual."

"Alright," my friend backed off, "I'll take your word for it." However he had succeeded in souring my mood. How was Kakashi and my real reunion going to go? Sure, before I'd left he'd insisted on us staying together, but how had this much time apart influenced him? Could his mind be changed? Worry mounted in me as I continued to muse over it and by the end of the day I was snapping at anyone who said a word to me, retiring into my tent early. After a little while I heard the sounds of the fire being put out and two people go into the tent next to mine. The third presence appeared outside my door and I sighed, bracing myself for whatever was to come next. Kakashi ducked through the flap and crouched just inside the tent.

"Hey," he said simply.

"Hey."

We just looked at each other for several long moments. Then,

"I missed you."

A wave of relief swept through me and I all but flung myself into the man's arms. "I missed you too," I breathed, and those strong arms tightened almost painfully around me.

"I was afraid you might never come back," the white haired man whispered.

"Kakashi," I pulled back, pushing his headband up so I could look him in both eyes, "I will _always_ come back. You mean the world to me." He tenderly touched his lips to mine, holding me tightly as we kissed. Tears stung my eyes as emotion welled up within, relief, guilt and love swirling around in a crazed tangle.

"You're all I have," Kakashi stated simply when he pulled away.

I frowned. "That's not true."

He laughed ruefully. "Akira, it is. I have no family remaining, no team, no sensei, my students have moved on…you're all that's left."

"That's not true," I repeated, keeping a straight face, "You have your porn."

He stared at me in shock for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. It was the first time I'd ever heard the man laugh and it was a glorious sound, pure and straight from the heart.

"How on earth do you know about that?" He demanded good naturedly.

"Come on. I see "Make-Out Paradise" sitting on my lover's nightstand and you don't think I'm going to take a look at it?"

The man grinned widely. "You caught me. I apologize, the Make-Out series is my weakness."

"It's alright. I knew from the beginning that you're a dirty old pervert."

"I am not old!" He exclaimed, obviously offended.

I couldn't help but giggle at his tone. "Whatever you say, love. Whatever you say." That night I slept in Kakashi's arms, finally back where I was supposed to be.


End file.
